


Blink and You'll Miss It

by QueenDiannaAgron



Category: Glee
Genre: Angst and Drama, F/F, Falling In Love, Friendship, Love, Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:40:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 48,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25746037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenDiannaAgron/pseuds/QueenDiannaAgron
Summary: Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry discover they like each other. Against all odds, will they be able to get together before they tear each other apart?
Relationships: Rachel Berry/Quinn Fabray
Comments: 10
Kudos: 125





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'll be uploading a chapter every Tuesday hopefully.  
> Read and comment :) (I still think review sounds better but oh well)

"I must be going crazy." The girl mutters. "That's the only logical explanation."

She replays the incident in her mind, she remembers walking through the doors to William McKinley High School on the first day of her senior year. She received two small smiles as greeting from Sam Evans and Mercedes Jones, who were happily continuing their summer romance now that the new semester has started. She gazed wistfully at Finn Hudson who was laughing at some crude joke from Noah Puckerman. She noticed the sly smile that Santana Lopez sent to Brittany Pierce as they passed each other. She even managed to utter out a 'hi' in response to Tina Cohen-Chang who was stood by her locker with her long-time boyfriend Mike Chang.

However, this was all predictable, she hadn't really been in contact with many of the members of Glee over the summer, having ruined their chances at Nationals last year when Finn kissed her, only to have him dump her again over the few months they had off. So she was expecting some form of greeting from few members of Glee who actually seemed to tolerate her.

What she wasn't anticipating, though, was the subtle but still noticeable wink that she received from one Quinn Fabray. It was a blink and you'll miss it situation. Quinn had gained confidence in herself, ever since she dyed her hair pink and got the nose ring, it was almost as if she had changed personality completely but the wink was still out of character.

"Rachel?"

The brunette is brought out of her thoughts by Kurt Hummel calling her name.

"Hello Kurt, I trust that your summer was pleasant?"

Ever since he'd returned from Dalton Academy, Kurt and Rachel had become friends. There was still the odd moment when they fought over the spotlight, but Rachel was grateful for his friendship, especially when Finn dropped her like yesterday's garbage. He'd driven straight over with a pint of vegan-friendly ice cream and let her vent to him all night.

"Oh it was wonderful." The boy reflects, leaning against the locker next to Rachel's. "Blaine took me out on a date every single weekend."

"Must be nice." Rachel responds, without thinking before turning to face Kurt. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to rain on your parade. I hadn't even meant to say that aloud, I'm just distracted at the moment."

"I could tell, judging by the fact it took me saying your name three times before you payed attention to me. What's going on?"

"I… nothing, just more boy drama don't want to bother you with it." She lies. "I'll see you in chemistry Kurt, but I have to get to calculus so if you'll excuse me."

With that, she walked away without another word, leaving a bewildered Kurt stood at her locker, vowing to find out just what was going on inside Rachel Berry's head.

* * *

Kurt knew there was something up with Rachel as soon as she hadn't used their short conversation to talk about herself or what song she was going to sing in Glee today. As he watched the diva walk down the corridor away from him, his mind whirred trying to figure it all out, he knew that the boy drama excuse was a lie, because she always came to him with her problems, as she knew he'd understand.

Wait. He paused, squinting his eyes at the scene that just occurred down the hallway. He could've sworn that he just saw Rachel not-so-subtly check out a Cheerio as she was bending down to drink out of the fountain.

He suddenly realised that it may not be boys, but maybe it's girl trouble. He was still offended that she didn't confide in him as he'd been through this first hand but he knew what it was like being trapped in the closet. Now all he needed to do was give her a little nudge.

* * *

The students of McKinley part like a wave as Quinn Fabray struts down the hallway. A smirk pulls at her lips, proud at the power she'd so easily regained after her fall from grace in her Sophomore year. Even though she was getting some strange glances regarding her new gothic look, she couldn't care less, she finally felt like herself.

Her mother didn't really approve, but she wasn't brave enough to kick her out again. Quinn could pretty much get away with anything nowadays and she wasn't going to change now that school had started again.

First thing this morning she'd marched into Sue Sylvester's office and quit the cheerios once more, but this time it was for the last time. She'd then moved onto Will Schuester and quit the glee club too. Sure she loved singing, and the club had been her only real friends during that aforementioned incident almost two years ago, but she didn't need them anymore.

Over the summer, the former blonde had found friends in the group known as the skanks. They had shared many deep conversations over cigarettes in Quinn's back garden and she trusted them more than anything, or anyone, including Santana and Brittany. The unholy trinity was dead, at least it was in Quinn's eyes.

"Q!"

Quinn had no intention on stopping to wait for her ex-best friend so just continued walking and waiting for the Latina to inevitably catch up with her.

"Q, what the hell happened to you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about Santana." She drawls, indicating she was less than interested in anything Santana had to say.

The brunette huffs a laugh, moving to stand in front of the taller girl, stopping her from continuing towards her class. "Oh come on, we both know you aren't an idiot Fabray. What's with the new look? Did it really only take you a couple months to fall off the rails completely? Things were great for us last year, we ruled this school, why throw it all away?"

"That's none of your business, now get out of my way." Quinn snarls.

"Oh you did not just say that. You know what, screw you Quinn, I hope you enjoy your sad little life but don't come crying to me when it all falls apart again." The Latina shouts after Quinn, who is rapidly disappearing from view.

* * *

Santana stands in the middle of the hallway silently scowling at the spot at the end of the hall where Quinn Fabray has just turned the corner.

When the bell rang to signify the start of first period the girl huffs before turning on her heels and stomping to her first class of her senior year.

She'd had the perfect summer but of course it had to end and the fall semester of school had to come and ruin her life. It wasn't as if she hated actually being at school, although the majority of people grated on her last nerve, it was more the fact that she couldn't be herself within these walls. She wanted nothing more than to just embrace that part of herself that she'd kept hidden for so long and walk these hallways with Brittany's hand in hers but she couldn't. Especially now Quinn has practically disowned her meaning she'd need to find a way to stay popular on her own. She knew being in the glee club wouldn't help with her status but she didn't care, she loved being in that choir room, even if most of the time she just had to sit in the back row and sing backup to Berry for the millionth time that week, it was still time she got to spend with Brittany.

However, that was going to change this year, she was going to demand more solos. They won their Sectionals last year when she sang Valerie yet lost Nationals when the dwarf and Frankenteen sang some sickly love duet that Hudson had made up last minute.

She was a star and she wasn't going to let anyone stand in her way.

* * *

Santana walks calmly into the choir room that afternoon and sits in the front row, waiting for everyone else to arrive.

She receives a few weird glances from the other members but no one questions her choice of seat.

Until Rachel Berry walks in.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"I could ask you the same question regarding wearing that hideous jumper, I mean is that a carousel horse?"

"I'll wear what I want to wear Santana, now why, may I ask, are you sat in my seat?"

"I'll sit where I want to sit Berry." She mocks. "I don't see your name on it."

"You are a child." The diva comments. "A child." She repeats right into the cheerleader's ear as she passes her to sit in the row behind.

Mr Schue walks in and begins some rant about new members now Quinn has gone and Santana suddenly gets an idea.

 _That's it!_ _I was a hero when I brought Hummel back, all I need to do now is convince crazy Fabray to drop the bad girl attitude and come back. Everyone will be so grateful they'll pretty much throw the solos at me._


	2. Chapter 2

"Hi Quinn."

The girl turns at the sound of her name, rolling her eyes as she spins. She just stares at intruder, unlit cigarette resting on her bottom lip, waiting for the other girl to talk.

"Um, I heard from Mr Schue that you'd quit glee and I was just wondering if…"

"I'm not coming back Berry." Quinn interrupts, already turning her back on Rachel.

"Quinn, you have a beautiful voice, you belong in that choir room."

"Then why do I never get any solos, why do I have to spend every day sat there for an hour watching you or Kurt or Mercedes belt out some shitty song from a musical no one's ever even heard of?" She demands, spinning round so fiercely that the brunette takes a step back away from her.

"Um, well actually Funny Girl is a very popular musical…" Rachel tries to reason before shaking her head to get her thoughts back on track.. "However, I am willing to relinquish one or two solos a week to the less confident members in the club, such as yourself, if you were willing to return."

"Relinquish? Are you just a walking thesaurus? Why not just say 'give up' like a normal teenager? Also do you really think I'd be swayed that easily?" The ex-cheerleader spits, moving to light the cigarette she'd been holding since her conversation began.

"Um, can you not light that while I'm here? It's really bad for your vocal chords and I suggest you quit before you get too dependent on them."

"I can do what I like Berry, if you don't like it, leave."

The diva huffs and stalks away, obviously disappointed by the outcome of the discussion and Quinn can't help but watch her go, her eye-line drifting down to her swaying hips.

_Woah, what was that? Why was I just about to eye-fuck the dwarf?_

She shivers at the thought and finally lights her cigarette, sighing and trying to get Rachel out of her head.

* * *

"Good afternoon baby girl, how was your first day of senior year?"

"Not now Daddy." Rachel huffs, dropping her keys and stomping up the stairs.

"That good huh?" Hiram Berry mutters to himself before returning to his study, allowing his daughter time to strop.

Rachel reaches her bedroom and slams the door behind her, annoyed at how bad her day was.

_How is it only the first day and I'm already wanting it to end?_

The day had started off alright, minus the confusing wink from Quinn, but ever since she walked away from Kurt, things started going downhill. Firstly, she was late to her first period because she happened to be the first glee kid that a jock, who's name she didn't know, spotted and she ended up covered in grape slushy. Then she didn't manage to have a decent lunch because the school board decided that providing vegan friendly meals wasn't worth the extra money so she had to make do with a slightly soggy salad which she had to eat alone as Kurt was off campus with Blaine and well, she was single so didn't feel like sitting with Mike, Tina, Sam and Mercedes. Finally, she'd had that unpleasant and unsuccessful conversation with Quinn after school. So all in all, as first days go, it was pretty terrible.

There was also the strange feeling she got when Quinn stood close to her, it wasn't the usual feeling she got whenever the taller girl was nearby but something different, something new.

It was this feeling that made Rachel more determined to get Quinn back into the glee club and make one final attempt at becoming her friend.

* * *

Santana was in heaven right now, she was lying on her back on her bed with Brittany cuddled up to her side. She should be thinking about the blonde beside her, but instead her thoughts were on another blonde, or at least, she used to be blonde.

"Britt?" She calls, wondering if the other girl was still awake.

"Yeah?"

"I need your help with something."

"Are we going public?" The dancer asks, lifting her head to look at Santana.

"No, I can't deal with that right now, I need to tell my parents before anything. I need help with Quinn."

"I was wondering how long that would take." Brittany laughs, resting her head back down on the other girl's shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you were lost in thought ever since Mr Schue mentioned her in glee earlier. It's cute how much you care about her San."

"What? I don't care about her, I just want more solos." The Latina reasons.

"Sure. Anyway how exactly do you want me to help?"

"Well no one can say no to you Britt, can you just talk to her?"

"I'll try, but it'll cost you." The blonde winks, moving to straddle Santana.

"Oh yeah? How much?"

"About half an hour of kisses."

"That I can do." Santana smirks, guiding Brittany's lips down to hers and losing herself in the kiss.

* * *

Brittany skips into school and makes a beeline for Quinn's locker. The girl is already there, sorting out her books when the cheerleader approaches.

"Hey Q, I didn't see you yesterday."

"Yeah well I'm in all AP classes and I quit cheerios and glee so it's not surprising." Quinn points out.

"Why?"

"Er, which part are you questioning?"

"Why did you quit glee, you love glee." Brittany clarifies.

"Not you too, I just don't need glee anymore, why can't people understand that?" Quinn snaps, slamming her locker and walking away.

Brittany follows her. "You may not need it, but surely you still want it?"

The pink haired girl stops walking and turns to face the other girl, but she doesn't answer.

"Come back to glee Quinn, we miss you." The dancer adds before turning and leaving.

* * *

Stifling a yawn, Rachel opens her textbook. She barely slept last night with so much on her mind. She was surprisingly fine with it at the time, happy to have the time to think, but now she was starting to regret it as it was only second period and she was already struggling to keep her eyes open. It didn't help that the class was calculus and she wasn't very good at it so really needed to pay attention.

The brunette was just about to give in to her need to sleep when she's jolted back to reality by someone sitting in the seat to her left.

"Don't get too excited short stack, it was the only available seat."

Rachel tries to calm herself as the feeling from last night comes flooding back whilst she studies Quinn's profile.

"Um, right, no, that's fine."

"I wasn't asking for your permission Berry."

The singer redirects her attention to the front of the classroom as the teacher starts writing some equations on the board, instructing the class to differentiate them.

The two girls focus on the task but Rachel can sense that she's being watched.

"You may want to check number 3." Quinn mumbles.

"Oh, thanks." Rachel replies, turning her attention back to the 3rd equation, begging herself to see what she did wrong.

"You're missing a negative." The ex-cheerleader laughs.

Rachel finds herself smiling at the sound. "Right thanks, because cosine differentiates to minus sine." She says, explaining to herself how she went wrong whilst also trying to prove to Quinn that she wasn't completely useless.

Risking a glance at the other girl, she finds Quinn smiling at her but as soon as they make eye contact they both panic and look away.

"Quinn."

"Yeah?"

"I may have forgotten the quotient rule." Rachel blushes.

Quinn laughs lightly before sliding her notes over for the brunette to glance at.

"Thanks." She mutters.

* * *

Quinn leaves her calculus lecture with a smile on her face.

"What you smiling at Q?"

Quinn turns to find Ronnie, one of the skanks, approaching her.

"Don't call me that, and I was just thinking about someone... _something_ , I was thinking about something."

"Who?"

The hazel-eyed girl sighs. "No one. Where are the others?"

"In the bathroom down the hall, Shelia caught one of those glee nerds trying to flush the cigarettes we kept stashed in there. Want to do the honours?"

"Um." Quinn hesitates, not ready to be a bitch to one of her old friends. "No you go ahead, I gotta stop at my locker before the end of break."

"Come on Quinn, prove your loyalty to the skanks."

The girl can't think up an excuse quickly enough and reluctantly allows Ronnie to pull her down the hall.

_You can do this. Just apologise to them later, maybe even pop in the glee rehearsal to do it. No, if you go to glee you'll never leave. Just be the HBIC you were in Freshman year. You've got this._

After her little pep talk to herself she pushes open the bathroom door, prepared to just get though the experience.

What she wasn't prepared for, however, was to come face to face with Rachel.

"I should've known." Quinn chuckles.

She watches as Rachel gulps and glances around the bathroom but she's surrounded, with Shelia and 'The Mack' on one side, Ronnie on the other and Quinn in front of her.

"I was just trying to save you." She tries to explain.

"I don't need saving Berry, how many times am I going to have to say that this year? You, Santana and Brittany need to stop trying to 'fix' my life. I'm fine, I'm finally happy." Quinn lies, she was far from happy.

Over the summer she thought she'd found happiness but since she's been back at school she realised that she wants one more thing, she just couldn't figure out what was missing. Little did she know, that 'thing' was standing in front of her now.

"Everyone out." She barks. "Not you Berry."

The three other girls exchange glances before catching sight of Quinn's expression and swiftly leaving the bathroom.

"Quinn, I…"

"Don't apologise."

"I wasn't going to." Rachel shrugs. "I have nothing to apologise for. Unless you'd like to me say sorry for looking out for my friend."

"We're not friends." Quinn argues weakly.

"Really? It didn't seem that way last period. You were making conversation just as much as I was, if not more. Plus you voluntarily helped me when I got stuck."

The taller girl takes a deep breath as Rachel approaches her, trying to deny what she was feeling.

"So, what's my punishment?"

"What?"

"My punishment, for trying to flush your stash." The singer asks.

"Oh, um, don't worry about it. Just don't tell the others that I let you go."

"The other glee kids or the other skanks?"

"Both."

Rachel smiles briefly before picking up her bag and moving passed Quinn to the door, leaving the other girl to get lost in her thoughts.

_Shit._

* * *

She should've seen this coming. She was never really attracted to Finn, Puck or Sam when she'd dated them. It was more just for convenience and popularity. Though at the time she assumed it was because they were just childish and not her type, not that it was due to the fact they were boys. Thinking about it now, it should've been more obvious, the boys couldn't have been more different from each other so it had nothing to do with her 'type' it was to do with their gender. She would have never even considered sleeping with Puck if she wasn't drunk and the thought of sleeping with any guy since has creeped her out.

As she paced her room she looked back over the past two days. At the time she didn't know why she'd winked at Rachel and by the look on her face, Rachel didn't either. It was obvious now, it was as if her brain was trying to tell her something. She also had been getting a weird feeling in her stomach every time the brunette was around her, and she was unable to stop herself from making conversation with Rachel during calculus, secretly grinning every time she made the other girl laugh.

But Quinn wasn't going to accept this, she wasn't even going to admit it to herself. She was going to embrace her inner HBIC and just ignore the girl and soon the feeling would just go away… right?

* * *

Wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

Quinn's plan to ignore Rachel was going well. She'd made a weird quick turn into the girl's bathroom when she'd seen the brunette walking towards her but she feels she styled it out.

So yeah, it was all going to plan. That is until she rushes into calculus, out of breath just as the late bell was ringing. The teacher gave her a stern look but she just ignores it and scans the room to find a seat.

Quinn sighs as her eyes land on the only empty seat in the room, and she moves slowly towards the desk, flopping down into the seat next to the one girl she was trying to avoid.

"Hi Quinn."

"Yeah, hey."

_Ignore her, ignore her, ignore her…_

"Quinn?"

The pink-haired girl snaps open her eyes, which she didn't even realise she'd closed, and turns her head to the right, breath catching slightly as her eyes meet the brown ones staring at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asks.

"Um, yeah." Quinn mutters, unable to tear her eyes away from Rachel's.

"Well Ms Simpson wants us to work on these problems."

"Okay…"

As Quinn turns back to her workbook she reprimands herself for not being able to ignore the girl.

"Um, but work on them as a pair." Rachel finishes.

_That's just my luck._

"Fine." She sighs. "How do you want to do this?"

"I don't mind, though you seem to have more of a grip on this than I do so maybe I could try to do them and you can correct me if I go wrong?" The brunette suggests.

"Sure."

* * *

Rachel was having the worst week of her life. The only good thing right now is her calculus classes. She used to hate the lesson but ever since Quinn started sitting next to her, she enjoyed it a lot more. Though she'd only sat there twice, and it was never her choice but Rachel was choosing not to think too much about that and just enjoy the girl's company. However, at the moment she wasn't sure how to feel about Quinn because she'd set one of the purple pianos on fire and Rachel was fuming.

They'd simply been celebrating that Blaine had transferred and when the cheerios joined in Rachel thought that maybe things would be different this year but of course they had ulterior motives, thanks to Sue Sylvester.

That wasn't even the worst part of her week, she'd not long gotten home from the NYADA mixer with Kurt where all her hopes and dreams were thoroughly smashed. She thought she was one of a kind, turns out she's pretty standard, if not subpar.

Kurt had momentarily cheered her up but the effects didn't last long and now she was lying face down on her bed wishing she wasn't single so she'd have someone to comfort her.

Rachel lets her imagination run wild and pictures herself being held in the arms of someone who loves her, and who she loves in return. Normally whenever she had this, or a similar fantasy, it was always Finn holding her tight, but this time the body was slimmer and toned. She focused more on the face and saw Quinn smiling down at imaginary Rachel.

_Well that's new._

* * *

Quinn felt terrible, she saw the look of hurt on Rachel's face when she threw her cigarette at the purple piano, causing it to go up in flames. She hadn't wanted to but the cheerleaders offered her $50 to do it and she couldn't pass up that amount.

She'd actually had fun in calculus, working with Rachel was surprisingly easy and she found it adorable how Rachel chewed on the end of her pencil when she was stuck. She was done trying to ignore her, she hadn't even lasted a day, but that doesn't mean she was suddenly going to be all friendly, she was still a bitch after all.

She'd just be nice to Rachel in private. It was better than nothing.

* * *

As Quinn walks into school the following Monday, she was actually looking forward to calculus class. In fact she was so lost in her own thoughts that she turned into the wrong classroom and came face to face with Shelby Corcoran.

"Quinn, hi, I was going to come looking for you."

"Um… no thanks." Quinn responds, even though it made no sense.

As she turns to leave Puck appears in the doorway, blocking her path.

"Move."

"Just hear her out." Puck begs.

"You knew she was here?"

"I did, but only because I was eavesdropping when she visited Figgins."

Quinn rolls her eyes. "I don't want to hear what she has to say. I was happy when she adopted Beth but seeing as she hasn't spoken to either of us in over a year, I honestly couldn't care less about what she has to say."

"Quinn, please, I moved back to Ohio so you and Puck could have a relationship with Beth, whilst I attempt to form one with Rachel."

The hazel-eyed girl whirls around to face Shelby again.

"No. You stay away from me, and Rachel. You already broke her once, don't break her again." She spits before pushing passed Puck and leaving.

* * *

Puck was confused, he didn't know why Quinn stood up for Rachel, or why she didn't want to meet their daughter, but he was determined to find out.

"Hey baby mama." He smirks, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"Ugh don't call me that. What do you want?"

"What up with the attitude? And why are you defending Rachel all of a sudden?"

"That's… I… shut up Puckerman. What I do is none of your business."

As she storms away Puck smirks once more, it seems like his baby mama has a little crush on his Jewish-American princess and he wouldn't be Puck if he didn't help those two hot babes get together.


	4. Chapter 4

Quinn stood in the doorway of the classroom watching Shelby flit about, setting up for the first lesson with Sugar.

Eventually, the woman looks up and sees Quinn watching.

"I want to see her. I know Puck got to." The pink-haired girl demands before Shelby can say anything.

She waits as brown eyes scan her face whilst trying not to think about how similar they are to Rachel's eyes.

"Not while you're like this."

"Why not?"

"Because you're not yourself like this Quinn. I want Beth to know you, not this girl you pretend to be."

"I'm not pretending." Quinn glares but Shelby holds her ground.

"Also, it has to be on my terms. Puck just turned up at my apartment, I didn't choose for him to meet her first."

"Fine, can I at least see a picture?"

Shelby sighs and pulls her phone out of her pocket before handing it to Quinn.

The girl fights back the tears as she looks down at the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen sat on Puck's knee.

"Thank you." She mumbles, handing the brunette her phone back before rushing into the nearest bathroom to cry over her little girl in private.

* * *

"I need your advice." Quinn mumbles as she slumps down into her seat.

Rachel looks around confused, until she realises that not only did Quinn voluntarily sit next to her, she was in fact talking to her too.

"Oh um, okay sure." She smiles.

"I want to join glee again."

"Really?" The brunette's face lights up. "What made you change your mind?"

"Um well I saw you all performing 'You Can't Stop The Beat' last week and I realised how much I missed you all, but you can't repeat that to anyone. Plus I… want to meet Beth and Shelby won't let me until I'm myself again, whatever that means."

"Quinn, if you're not doing this for yourself then…"

"No I am." Quinn insists. "I want to be in Beth's life, ever since I gave her up there's been something missing in my life and she's definitely half of that hole."

"Only half?"

"Please help me." She begs, ignoring Rachel's last question.

The diva is shocked by this version of Quinn and searches the girl's hazel eyes and sees nothing but honesty in them, and maybe even love, but just assumes that's her love for Beth.

"Alright. Mr Schue is currently doing a dance boot camp for the members of glee who want or need a little extra help. Maybe you should start there."

"You think I need help with my dancing Berry?"

"Um, no I…" Rachel panics.

"Relax, I'm just teasing Rach."

Both girls are shocked by the nickname but neither mention it and soon the teacher walks in so they settle into silence.

_If only she knew she was the other half._ Quinn thinks as she subtly watches Rachel's profile as she works on some problems, smiling as the girl scrunches her nose in confusion before leaning over to help her.

"I need your opinion on something." Rachel suddenly announces. "Two things actually."

"Sure."

"Well firstly, I can't decide what song to audition for the musical with." The brunette blushes. "It's between I Feel Pretty and Somewhere."

"Alright, I think Somewhere would be a better choice, it'll show off your voice better. Plus you've technically already done I Feel Pretty." Quinn winks.

Rachel grins. "Okay, I'll do that thank you Quinn."

"What was the other thing?"

"Oh well I was wondering what you think about Shelby being back and how you think I should act?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know more than anyone how I feel, I just want your opinion on whether you think she's being genuine or if she's only offering me a relationship as she's going to be around school and thinks it'll be awkward otherwise."

"I'm not sure." Quinn admits, running her hand over the back of her neck. "I want to believe her, and need to if I want to see Beth but I know how badly she hurt you."

"Okay how about this, if you were in Shelby's position and Beth was in mine, how would you be feeling?"

"I'd want a relationship with her. But Rachel you need to remember how she treated you when you first met, I'm not sure I'd ever do that with Beth. Maybe you should ask your dads?"

"Yeah, I reckon I'll do that. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, but now I want to ask you for a favour."

Rachel gives Quinn a confused look until the former cheerleader leans over and opens her bag, showing Rachel the bottle of peroxide hidden inside.

"Will you help me get Quinn back?"

* * *

The two girls leave the classroom side by side until Rachel is stopped by Finn blocking her path. Quinn pauses too before realising that she and Rachel technically aren't friends, yet, so she had no need to wait.

Rachel was slightly disappointed that Quinn didn't wait for her but decides not to read into it and instead looks up at Finn.

"Did you want something?"

"Yeah." He grins, a proud look on his face. "You."

"Me?"

"Yeah, I want you."

"Are you serious right now Finn?" She scoffs.

"I thought you'd be thrilled." He frowns.

Rachel thought she would be ecstatic, she'd dreamed of this moment countless times, but now, in the moment she was just disappointed. Disappointed that it wasn't someone else.

"Rach?"

Her eyes flick back to Finn as she realises she'd been watching Quinn walk down the hall and can't help but think how much better her nickname sounded coming from Quinn.

"No Finn, I'm not 'thrilled'. Once I would've jumped at this opportunity but since saying you'd never break up with me you've gone back on that and broken up with me not once but twice. Everyone gets a second chance, but no one deserves more than that." She says before turning and walking away from him.

* * *

That afternoon, Rachel finds herself standing in Quinn's bathroom with her hands massaging the girl's scalp.

Meanwhile Quinn was trying not to moan at the feeling of Rachel's fingers in her hair and was so glad she'd asked the brunette to help her with this. She didn't really need help seeing as she dyed her hair pink by herself but Rachel didn't need to know that.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure." Quinn replies, wincing at the deepness of her voice as the word came out sounding slightly like the moans she'd been withholding.

"Why did you ask me to help with this?"

Quinn briefly wonders if Rachel had been reading her mind before realising that was impossible.

"Um, well, truthfully you're the only one who's always treated me like I'm the same Quinn even though you've seen many sides of me over the past four years. It only seemed right that you were the one who helped me accept my true self again."

"And which Quinn is your true self?"

"The one who loves with her whole heart and doesn't care who knows it. Whether it's loving maths, or glee, or Beth, or anyone else."

Quinn looks up and meets Rachel's eyes in the mirror as the brunette continues silently rubbing the dye into Quinn's head.

Neither girl realised how much was going to change in the coming weeks as they both fell slightly more for someone they thought would never catch them.


	5. Chapter 5

Quinn takes a deep breath before walking down the corridor, multiple heads turn in her direction but she just ignores them and continues walking. As she passes groups of students she hears whispers but keeps her HBIC mask firmly in place and blocks them all out. So what if she's changed personality twice in a few months? It's her life she can do what she wants.

She passes the auditorium and hears Rachel's voice so wanders into the room and hides in the back row as Rachel sings with Shelby. Their voices sound great together and Quinn can't help but smile as she pictures singing with Beth one day.

The girl is so lost in her own thoughts that she doesn't notice that Rachel and Shelby have stopped singing and Rachel was walking up the stairs towards her right now.

"Quinn?"

"Huh?" The blonde jumps. "Oh hey." She blushes.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just lost in thought sorry."

"Penny for your thoughts?" Rachel asks, sitting down a few seats away from Quinn.

"Well I was listening to you sing with Shelby and my mind drifted to thinking about whether I'll sing with Beth one day."

"Of course you will, not only is she being raised by Shelby, but with you and Puck as parents she's going to be beautiful and talented."

"Hmm, I'm not sure whether to blush at you implying I'm beautiful or cringe at you implying Puck is beautiful." Quinn teases.

"You should blush." Rachel winks before standing and walking out of the auditorium, leaving Quinn to decipher whether that was her flirting or not.

* * *

Rachel's heart was beating a mile a minute, not only did she just openly flirt with Quinn Fabray but she then just walked away before seeing her reaction. She was dreading having to go to calculus class later that day and was contemplating skipping when she rounded a corner and walked straight into a tall, hard body.

"Oof."

"Oh, hey Rach. I wanted to talk to you, listen…"

Rachel tunes out as Finn begins rambling about wanting to be with her again.

 _Wow and people think I rant a lot._ She thinks, smirking slightly which turns out to be a mistake as Finn thinks she is smiling at him so continues talking.

Tingles suddenly shoot down the diva's spine as she feels the light touch of soft fingertips trail over the back of her hand. She turns her head to the left just in time to see Quinn's hand return to her own side as she passes by.

Rachel watches the blonde walk away down the corridor until she sees Quinn look over her shoulder, causing the brunette to blush at being caught staring. Quinn shoots Rachel a quick wink, who feels her blush deepen.

"See and now you're blushing so will you just be my girlfriend again?" Finn finishes, interrupting the moment between the two girls.

"Wait what?" Rachel asks, wanting clarification.

"Will you be my girlfriend again?"

"Finn, no. We've been through this, you've broken my heart twice why should you get another chance?"

"But Rach, we're meant to be together, I can just feel it."

"If you can 'feel it' why did you break up with me?" She demands.

"Um, well, some of the guys on the team…"

"I'm going to stop you right there Finn Hudson." Rachel interrupts. "If you're about to say you broke my heart for the sake of your reputation."

She was fuming, they'd been over this last year.

For once Finn used his brain and decided to not continue with the reason he broke up with her.

"Good choice." She says before turning away from him.

The diva was slightly disappointed that she could no longer see Quinn but her mood had suddenly changed and she was now excited for their calculus class later today.

What Rachel didn't know was that Quinn was lurking just around the corner and had heard their entire conversation which in turn was causing the blonde to have a panic attack, if she and Rachel ever actually got together, which Quinn thought was a very slim chance, would Rachel make her choose between her popularity and their relationship? She knows that the brunette and Finn went through something similar during Britney week last year.

Quinn shakes her head to rid her brain of the thought.

_Rachel doesn't even like you like that so there's no need to think about it. Right?_

* * *

At the end of the day, the blonde takes another deep breath before walking onto the auditorium stage.

"Quinn, can I help you?" Mr Schuester asks, clearly as shocked as every other teacher and student at her sudden return to her old self.

"I heard this was the best place to go for people who want help with their dancing?"

* * *

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

* * *

Rachel rushes down the stairs in her dressing gown as whoever was at the door rang the bell for the fifth time.

She curses her dads for being heavy sleepers as she pulls open the door in a huff but her mood instantly softens as she comes face to face with a teary eyed Quinn.

"Quinn? What's wrong?"

"I've done something terrible." The girl sniffs.

Rachel instantly pulls her into the house but is shocked when Quinn wraps her arms around her and begins sobbing into her neck. After the initial surprise, the brunette starts soothingly running her hands up and down the blonde's back.

The girls had become what Rachel considered friends over the past couple of weeks, sharing stories and laughing at each other's jokes during calculus. But hugging was unprecedented, so she was definitely confused right now.

"Quinn…? What happened?"

"I… I went to Shelby's… you're going to hate me now Rach…" She says between sobs, lifting her head to look Rachel in the eyes.

"I could never hate you Quinn, tell me what you did."

"I planted items to make Shelby look like an unfit mother so I could get Beth back." Quinn reveals all in one breath.

Rachel completely freezes, she just stands there blinking, her mouth slightly open.

Meanwhile, Quinn goes further into her panic at the brunette's silence.

"I knew it, you hate me, I shouldn't have come here."

She attempts to leave but a small soft hand wraps around her wrist, stopping her in her tracks.

"I'm just… processing, I don't hate you."

"But she's your mother."

"Have you tried telling her that?" Rachel laughs. "Seriously Quinn, yes she may have given birth to me, but she's not my mother because she has never acted like one. She's trying but she's not there yet. Also don't for one second doubt your relationship with Beth because I've said that, you will act like a mother around Beth, even if you're not the one raising her."

Quinn sniffs softly, revelling in the fact that Rachel knew what she was thinking and reassured her. "I think I preferred it when you were silent." She jokes. "But thanks, I guess I needed to hear that."

"Well I am Rachel Berry, I have been known to rant, occasionally."

The blonde smiles slightly. "Yeah, occasionally."

"There's that smile. Now come on, let's get some sleep and we can talk some more in the morning."

Quinn moves to leave but Rachel's hand is still around her wrist.

"No, I'm not letting you drive while you're like this, you're staying here."

"It's fine Rach, I drove here."

"Yes but now you're in my house so it's my rules."

Rachel leads Quinn up the stairs and into her bedroom where she instantly pulls the girl into her bed. Quinn instinctively cuddles up next to the brunette and is soon drifting off into what will be the deepest sleep of her life.


	6. Chapter 6

Even though it was Saturday, Rachel still got up early and went through her morning routine. She was debating whether or not to use the elliptical as the noise may wake up Quinn. She was also on edge as she wasn't sure what mood the blonde would wake up in. Last night she had been so out of character and Rachel was wondering if she'd still be as open and willing to talk.

The singer was stressing herself out so much that she decides to just throw caution to the wind and use the elliptical.

About 20 minutes later, Quinn wakes up and sits up with a jolt, confused by her surroundings. She then remembers where she was and relaxes slightly before glancing slowly around Rachel's bedroom, taking in every small detail, the starts of a smile pulling at her lips. Then her eyes land on Rachel, standing stationary on her exercise machine, her bottom lip trapped between her teeth, a nervous expression on her face. Quinn couldn't help but lose her breath at the sight, she really was beautiful, and her workout clothes showed off her body perfectly.

 _Why doesn't she wear tight clothes all the time?_ The blonde wonders before realising that Rachel was still looking slightly panicked waiting for her to talk.

"Morning." Her voice was heavy with sleep so the greeting didn't come out much louder than a whisper.

"Morning." Rachel responds with a small smile, still anxious to see what mood Quinn would be in.

The blonde clears her throat before speaking again. "I'm sorry." She blushes.

"For what?"

"Coming here, waking you up in the middle of the night and crying all over you."

"Quinn… you don't need to be sorry for that, do you know how long I've been waiting to be your friend and now maybe I feel like I might be."

Quinn's heart sunk slightly when Rachel referred to them as friends when she wanted so much more but now was not the time for that.

"Do you want to talk about it?" The brunette offers, stepping down off her elliptical and perching on the edge of her bed. "I've already informed my dads that you're here so we can just stay hidden in here for as long as you want."

Quinn smiles at the girl's sweetness. "I do want to talk about it but I don't know how or where to start. I was raised to hide my feelings."

"Well how about I go downstairs and get us something to eat whilst you sort through your thoughts? You can also use the bathroom if you want, I've laid out some clothes that might fit you if you want to change."

The blonde looks down and notices she's still in her dress from yesterday which is now slightly creased from sleeping in it.

"Yeah I think I'll do that, thanks."

* * *

Ten minutes later Quinn walks out of Rachel's ensuite and sees the girl sat on her bed, scrolling on her phone.

Rachel hears Quinn enter the room and looks up, gasping at the sight before her. There was something about the way Quinn wore her clothes that was extremely attractive. The top that she had picked out was slightly too short, due to the height difference between the two girls, meaning the base of Quinn's abs was on display and Rachel had to force herself to look away from the soft skin.

"Did Rachel Berry, a Jewish vegan, make me bacon?" Quinn teases, ignoring Rachel's roaming eyes and spying the plate stacked high with bacon on her dresser.

"Well, Daddy actually cooked it but I asked him to…"

"Are your dads not Jewish too?"

"Dad, or Hiram, is. However, Daddy, or LeRoy is Catholic."

"But…" Quinn starts then trails off when she realises she's not quite sure how to phrase her question.

Rachel laughs and the blonde smiles at the sound. "Yes he's gay and Catholic."

"How'd you know that's what I was going to ask?"

"Not the first time I've explained it." She shrugs. "His parents didn't like it, especially his dad but he came to the conclusion that his happiness should come above everyone else's and when he met Dad he knew he'd made the right decision. You can ask him about it if you want it explained in a better way, he's very open, they both are. Anyway, help yourself to food."

Quinn sits down on the bed, leaning back against the headboard and Rachel moves so she's sitting in the same manor next to her.

"I guess you want me to start talking now?" Quinn laughs, taking a bite out of a piece of bacon and moaning at the taste.

Rachel tries not to fixate on the sound of Quinn moaning and responds to her question. "It's up to you Quinn, we can talk about anything you want, or we can just sit here in silence."

"No I want to tell you, something made me come to you rather than Santana. At first I thought it was because it was Shelby but I guess part of it was because I feel more comfortable around you, I know you're not going to yell at me like San would. Plus she's still kinda mad at me."

"So where do you want to start?"

"From the beginning I guess. Ever since Beth was born I've been struggling with my mental health, I spent that summer locked away in my bedroom, only coming out to grab some food. I'd stock up, grab as much as I could carry so I wouldn't have to go back downstairs any time soon. My weight fluctuated a lot." Quinn pauses briefly to collect her thoughts. "Junior year I pushed everything down and didn't talk about it with anyone, I just worked my ass off to get back on top. I dated Sam, and Finn to improve my popularity more than because they were who I wanted. I turned back into classic head bitch Quinn to prove to everyone that the pregnancy was just a slip up, a mistake. But now I've met Beth, held her, I can't say that. Something that beautiful can't have been a mistake, I don't want her growing up thinking that I didn't want her when in reality it tore me apart inside to give her up. That's partly why I chose Shelby, I wanted her to be with someone I knew and could trust, despite what she did to you."

"Then why try to prove she's an unfit mother?"

"Because… I wanted Beth back." Quinn admits, looking down at her lap in shame.

"Wanted? Past tense? What do you want now?"

"I don't know." The blonde mumbles. "I'm so sorry Rachel, I've been selfish and a terrible person to people who don't deserve it, including you for the past few years."

The singer is taken aback by the sudden change of topic but goes with it as Quinn finally seems to be opening up.

"It's okay Quinn, I consider us friends now."

"I don't deserve your friendship."

"Quinn look at me." Rachel waits until she's looking into the girl's hazel eyes. "Everyone deserves a second chance, this is yours."

Quinn's heart rate increases, mind racing at the fact this second chance could get her everything she's wanted and more.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was busy yesterday meaning I'm going to upload three today and tomorrow to catch up.  
> Read and review :)

The two girls chat lightly throughout the morning, occasionally drifting into a comfortable silence.

Around midday, Quinn's stomach lets out a loud rumble causing Rachel to giggle.

"I guess I should offer you some food, your stomach has betrayed you."

"Well I would've said something but I was having too much fun just talking to you." Quinn blushes.

The brunette grins. "What do you want to do then?"

"What do you normally do for lunch on a Saturday? It's your house after all."

"We normally just have a light lunch then get a takeaway for dinner, but if you fancy something hot we can swap them round." Rachel offers, before noticing Quinn's raised eyebrow. "Not that I'm implying that you'll be here for dinner too." She adds quickly.

"It's fine Rach, and I'm happy to have whatever you fancy." The blonde smiles.

"Hmm well I think takeout might be easier as otherwise you'll have to steal something from Daddy if you want non-vegan food. What's your favourite takeaway?"

"Probably pizza but I know that's no good for you."

"Actually there's a kebab shop just around the corner that sells pizzas as well as vegan friendly items."

Quinn agrees to that idea and reluctantly allows Rachel to buy her lunch.

Unfortunately, the Berry men notice them leaving to collect it and ask to join. So that is how Quinn winds up sat next to Rachel, opposite Hiram and LeRoy, slowly making her way through a meat feast pizza. She felt a little guilty eating it in front of Rachel and her dad but Hiram insisted that it doesn't stop LeRoy eating meat, and she relaxed even more when LeRoy ordered the same pizza as her.

"So Quinn, I've heard from Rachel that Shelby has started up a new all girl glee club at McKinley, what are your thoughts on that?" Hiram asks.

"Um well I have no intention of deflecting from the new directions and as long as Rachel stays too then I have no worries about them beating us."

The two men smile as the girl who once bullied their daughter was now sat here complimenting her.

"Quinn that's sweet but they've got Mercedes and Santana now, those two are forces to be reckoned with." Rachel points out.

"Even so, their voices pale in comparison to yours." Quinn shrugs as if it was a normal thing for her to be so kind to Rachel. She smiles at the idea of this becoming her normal, spending Saturdays with the brunette and her dads, cuddling with her and watching movies all afternoon, before regaining her train of thought. "I have no doubt that we'll beat them at Sectionals and they'll all join the club again."

"Are you in the upcoming play? We're very excited to see Rachel in her first leading role on Friday." LeRoy asks, interrupting the intense eye contact between the two girls.

"Yes, I'm just one of the extras but I'm still loving it. I think I might want to go into acting one day, not Broadway, my voice is nowhere near good enough, but maybe plays or films."

"Quinn don't say that, you have a lovely voice, you helped us win Sectionals last year."

"Only because Mr Schue gave the duet to the winners of the duet competition, which I know you and Finn lost on purpose by the way. There's no way you'd be insensitive enough to sing that song, Finn maybe but not you."

Rachel blushes softly in embarrassment of being caught whilst the Berry men share a look as they spot Quinn looking at their daughter with love in her eyes.

* * *

"Spy!" Rachel shouts as Santana enters the choir room.

The Latina holds up her hands in mock surrender. "Relax Berry I'm just here to invite you all to my party this weekend, we may be in different groups now but we've been through some shit together and the part of me that I like to keep hidden wants to stay friends with you people even after graduation for whatever reason and that's why I'm hosting the after party for the opening night of the play whilst my parents go to couples counselling."

"Your parents have couples counselling?" Finn asks.

"Yes and don't go repeating that to anyone otherwise I will have to end you. Anyway, you will all be there on Saturday, got it?"

Santana leaves the room before anyone can even process that she'd openly called them her friends.

"Well, looks like we're going to a party." Tina laughs.

"Seems that way." Quinn mumbles suspicious of Santana's true intentions.

* * *

Quinn knew Santana was up to something, which is why she turns up to her party late, hoping no one would notice. However, as soon as she steps into the lounge, having let herself in the front door, she sees the whole glee club sat in a circle on the floor, and they all turn to look up at her.

Things were still awkward between her and the rest of the club but she was still happy she re-joined, even if initially it was only just to show Shelby she'd changed. She wouldn't admit to herself that it was because she missed it, and them.

"Q, it's about time, we've been waiting for you." Santana announces, jumping up and pulling Quinn into the room.

The blonde sits down next to Rachel as she knows that she's the only one that she can rely on liking her at this moment in time. They hadn't spoken much since last weekend but they'd still been sitting together in calculus classes, though both of them avoided the topic of Beth and Shelby.

"Yeah sorry I was…" Quinn hesitates, struggling to think of an excuse and then decides to just not give one. "Waiting for me for what?"

"To play a game, and seeing as I'm the host I get to pick the first game." The Latina explains, pretending to think of a game. "Hmm… I wanna play… seven minutes in heaven."

"Ooh I've never played that, what are the rules?" Rachel perks up.

_Of course she's never played it._ Quinn thinks while smiling internally at how cute Rachel is when she's excited, before shaking her head to remove the thought.

"I'll pick two names out of a hat and they have to spend seven minutes in my coat cupboard together, doing whatever they want to, but they must be touching the whole time." Santana explains whilst writing everyone's names onto pieces of paper before tossing them all into a hat and mixing them around.

After a couple of rounds, Santana finally got what she'd been waiting for as she pulled the first piece of paper out of the hat.

"Rachel." She announces before pulling out another name. "And Quinn." She smirks, even though the paper clearly has the name 'Artie' written on it.

The two girls hesitate, both wanting to spend the time with the other but neither willing to admit it.

"Come on, up you get. Puck and Mike did it, now it's your turn." Santana ushers, shooing them into the closet, which had been emptied of coats. "Remember, you have to be touching."

The Latina smirks again as she spies Quinn reach out and take Rachel's hand before she shuts the door on them.

Inside the closet, Rachel is trying not to blush at the feeling of Quinn's hand in hers, she never thought a hand could feel so soft, Finn's was never soft.

Quinn was trying to control her breathing and attempting to focus on anything other than Rachel, and Rachel's small hand in hers.

_They aren't man hands at all._ She reasons, wondering why she'd ever used that nickname when addressing Rachel.

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Rachel asks. "Unless you want to stand here in silence that is."

"No, we can talk. You can decide the topic."

"Um…" The brunette hesitates, trying to think of something to talk about, anything to talk about. "Well I know I dyed it but I haven't really had the opportunity to tell you that I like your hair."

"Thanks…"

"Not that I didn't like it when it was pink, I just prefer it natural. On everyone, not just on you, though it does look particularly good right now, however that might just be the weird lighting in here…"

"Rachel." Quinn laughs. "You're rambling."

"Sorry."

"It was cute."

"What?"

Quinn panicked, she hadn't meant to say that out loud. "Err… I mean the compliment, it was cute I um haven't heard one in a while and it was nice to hear, so thanks, again."

Rachel had a feeling that she had meant the rambling was cute but didn't question it.

"Well what I should've said was that it's nice to see you look like you again. Don't get me wrong, the goth look was… interesting, good interesting but I could tell you weren't happy. But with your old look you're closer to happiness. I think."

"Well I did ask you to help me get Quinn back. You're surprisingly close with the happiness thing." The blonde laughs nervously. "There's still something missing though."

She didn't know why she was opening up, maybe it was because it had been bottled up for so long that she just needed to say it, or maybe it was the feeling of holding Rachel's hand that just made her feel comfortable enough to share.

"Maybe you need to get back onto the Cheerios?" Rachel suggests.

"No, I'm done with cheerleading."

"Alright, then maybe you need a relationship."

Quinn pauses and thinks about it, she's always wanted to be in a relationship, except when she was in them. She also couldn't help but notice Rachel's choice of the word 'relationship' rather than 'boyfriend', as if she knew. No, she couldn't know, could she?

"Yeah, maybe I do."

Neither of them noticed but the two girls had been subconsciously moving towards each other and right now were standing with their bodies only inches apart.

"Well let me know if you want a wing woman." The diva teases.

"Yeah." Quinn breathes and Rachel gasps as she feels the release of air against her skin.

It was then that the brunette notices how close they were standing and she wasn't sure if Quinn had realised too but neither of them made any attempt to move.

"Tell me a secret." Quinn whispers.

"Only if you tell me one first."

"They don't leave this room? Or well, closet?"

Rachel shakes her head no and Quinn takes a deep breath, if she was going to tell anyone, might as well be Rachel.

"I don't think I'm entirely straight."

The diva pauses, unsure of whether she'd heard that correctly but as soon as she looks at the blonde and sees the blush on her cheeks she's sure of what she heard and it makes her heart beat faster with excitement.

"Wow. Now that was a big secret."

Quinn nods slightly. "Now you."

"I think… no, I know that I really want to kiss you right now."

Rachel watches as Quinn flicks her eyes down to her lips so darts her tongue out to wet them then bites her bottom lip slightly and smirks at the sight of the hazel eyes darkening as they watch.

They both slowly begin leaning forward until their mouths are just millimetres apart. Neither one knew who made the last move but suddenly their lips were touching and both girls feel a spark flow through them. The kiss starts off soft and tentative until Quinn decides to take charge and runs her hand up Rachel's back and through her hair until she reaches the back of her head and pulls the other girl closer to her. She feels Rachel smile into the kiss and place her hands on her hips, pulling their bodies closer as well.

Just as Quinn is about to deepen the kiss they hear a knock on the door and jump apart, both breathing heavily.

Rachel wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and watches as Quinn does the same.

"That…"

Before Rachel can finish her sentence Quinn has pushed open the closet door and darted.

_How ironic, she's leaving the closet yet something tells me she'll be stuck in it for quite some time._

As Rachel leaves the coat cupboard she feels several pairs of eyes on her, the rest were looking at the front door that Quinn left open in her haste.

"Um… I should… I have to go." Rachel mumbles before grabbing her coat and leaving.

Santana stands in the middle of her lounge and smirks, somehow knowing exactly what just happened in her closet.


	8. Chapter 8

Quinn lay in her bed all of Sunday morning, her mind spinning. As she thought back over the last two years everything suddenly made sense. Every time she pushed Rachel away from Finn, every time she caved when Rachel asked her to come back to glee, every time she lost her breath when listening to Rachel sing, the way she forced herself to have sex with Puck, the way her eyes occasionally wandered in the cheerios locker room, the way she was disgusted when Rachel was asking for advice on her sex life with Jesse.

There was no denying it anymore, the kiss with Rachel caused her to feel things she'd never felt before and that meant one thing and one thing only.

Quinn Fabray was gay.

* * *

Rachel was confused. She'd spent the last two years of her life chasing after Finn yet last nights kiss with Quinn set her whole body on fire. She was always trying to steal Finn from Quinn but maybe it should've been the other way around.

As she replays the kiss in her mind she finds herself becoming uncomfortably turned on. She begins squirming on her bed but soon realises that she's going to have to take care of herself.

The singer quickly checks that her bedroom door is locked then slides her hands into her shorts. After bringing herself to one of the strongest climaxes she's ever had she concludes that she's highly attracted to girls, or at least Quinn, as well as guys.

* * *

"Santana."

The girl smirks as she hears Quinn call her name, before turning to face her.

"Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure."

The blonde leads them into the locker room and sits on one of the benches. Santana follows her lead and sits opposite her.

"We've been best friends for ages right?"

"Except for this summer yeah." Santana points out.

"Right well I want to ask you something and I want you to answer it honestly and in turn I'll then share something with you." Quinn waits until she sees Santana nod. "You're in love with Brittany right?"

"Yes." The Latina admits.

"So you're… gay?"

Santana hesitates. "How could you tell?"

"Come on San, I've basically been third wheeling since the start of high school."

"True, so what did you want to share?"

"I think I might be gay too."

"About time too Fabray." Santana cackles.

"You knew?!"

"Hell yeah I knew, my gaydar is the best in Lima. I also know that you're in love with the dwarf."

"Don't call her that." Quinn growls.

"See, didn't even deny it."

"Well, okay yeah maybe I do like her. Do… do you think she's gay too?"

"Not gay no, maybe bisexual, but definitely not gay otherwise she wouldn't be hanging off Hudson for the past two years."

Quinn laughs, happy that she confided in her best friend, the only one she knew would understand.

* * *

Quinn had skipped calculus class, causing Rachel to worry that she was avoiding her. So the brunette was relieved to see her walking over during glee practise.

"I know we have a lot to talk about regarding the weekend, which I'm actively trying to avoid, but first I need to ask you something to do with the weekend before. Now I'll understand if you say no, if it's too much for you but I need to do this and I don't want to do it alone so I can always ask Puck but…"

"Quinn, take a breath." Rachel laughs. "What is it?"

"Well it involves seeing Shelby… but you seemed okay when she was performing with Mr Schue a moment ago so I thought maybe you wouldn't mind. I want to take back all the stuff I planted but I can't do that without Shelby being distracted."

"Oh, um… I'm…" Rachel hesitates before seeing the pleading look in Quinn's eyes and caves. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah but on one condition."

"Anything."

"We actually have a proper conversation about the… events of this weekend."

Quinn pauses, not wanting to have the conversation but knowing it was necessary. "Deal."

* * *

The following Friday, Quinn drives herself and Rachel over to Shelby's apartment, with the promise that they'd go back to Rachel's afterwards to talk.

At a stop light Quinn glances over at Rachel, who is moving her head in time to the music on the radio and softly humming along whilst gazing out of the passenger side window.

_She's adorable._

Rachel, who senses Quinn watching her, turns to face her and smirks when she sees the blonde whip her head back round to face the road, even though they weren't moving. She chooses not to tease the other girl so goes back to humming as Quinn pulls away from the junction.

As they climb the stairs Rachel begins to get nervous. Sure she'd seen Shelby around school, especially with this weeks glee assignment against the trouble tones, but this was different. This was actively going to see her, to talk to her. Plus she'd be meeting Beth and seeing Shelby act as a mother figure for someone else.

"Hey."

The brunette looks up at Quinn.

"You'll be fine, I promise I won't leave you alone for long I just need to pick up three things remember?"

"Right, from the bookshelf, the kitchen and the bathroom."

Once she's sure Rachel has calmed down slightly, Quinn knocks on the door which is soon opened to reveal Shelby holding Beth.

Rachel loses her breath at the sight of the gorgeous baby girl who looks exactly like Quinn, then again when she sees the way Quinn reacts to seeing her daughter.

"Hey cutie." Quinn coos, taking Beth from Shelby when the woman holds her out for her.

"Hi Rachel." Shelby greets, letting the girls follow her inside.

"Hey." Rachel responds awkwardly.

"Um, how's school?"

"Good, thanks."

The three of them settle at the kitchen table after Quinn puts Beth down to play with her toys. It remains awkward for a while but they soon settle into a conversation about glee. When Quinn announces that they should get going and asks to use the bathroom before they Rachel knows it's time for her to distract Shelby.

She asks how Shelby is getting on with Beth and work as they both move towards the front door. As much as she hates to admit it, she didn't pay too much attention to what the woman was saying as she watched Quinn move around the apartment shoving things into her bag before winking at Rachel as she moves closer.

"Well thanks for letting us come over Shelby, you know how much I love spending time with Beth, even if it is just watching her play." The blonde grins, saving Rachel from the embarrassment of admitting she wasn't listening.

* * *

Ten minutes later Quinn pulls into Rachel's driveway.

"Still want to do this?"

"Yes Quinn, we've been skating around it all week, we need to clear the air."

The blonde's heart drops slightly, assuming that Rachel meant 'clear the air' in the sense of going back to how things were before the kiss.

So she was really taken by surprise at the first words out of the singer's mouth as soon as they'd sat down in her living room.

"I like you Quinn."

"You… what?"

"I _like_ you, and I know I'm almost definitely barking up the wrong tree but I just needed to say it even if it means us not even being friends anymore because you want to avoid me which is totally understandable but it's true, you're constantly on my mind, you're pretty much all I think about actually and I know you're probably about to slap me so…"

Her rant was cut short by Quinn's lips pressing against hers. She relaxes into the kiss once she gets over the initial shock. Her whole body instantly reacts, chill bumps cover every inch of her skin, a shiver runs down her spine and she sees fireworks behind her eyes.

Quinn pulls away first, smiling, before realising that she'd just randomly kissed Rachel, in the middle of her lounge.

"Wait your dads aren't home are they?"

Rachel is still lost for words so shakes her head no, relaxing Quinn.

"Well looks like I've just found the best way to get you to stop talking." The blonde teases.

"I do not talk that much."

"You kinda do… I mean how long would you have rambled on if I hadn't interrupted?"

"I… I don't know." Rachel blushes. "Sometimes I just can't stop, especially if I'm nervous."

"Well I was actually enjoying it for a change, that is until you said I was going to slap you so I just did the opposite, kind of."

"So… you like me too?" The singer asks, pulling her bottom lip in between her teeth.

"So much." Quinn breathes, her eyes locked on to Rachel's lips. "But seriously I just kissed you randomly and you still had to question whether I liked you?" She laughs, lifting her gaze to meet those brown eyes.

"Well I just wanted clarification. So what now?"

Quinn instantly panics. "I… um…"

"What is it?" Rachel asks, fear seeping in.

"Look Rach, I do like you I promise but I… ugh." Quinn huffs in frustration, running her hands over her face. "I'm not sure I'm going to be able to handle all the stares if I come out. Being pregnant made my life a living hell, imagine what people will say when they find out I'm also gay."

"You're… you're gay?" The brunette questions before realising that wasn't the point of this conversation. "Sorry, well why don't we hide this, whatever this is."

"You'd do that?"

"Yeah, I mean I hid my relationship with Jesse and I barely liked him."

"What? Firstly you were terrible at hiding that, everyone knew you were still seeing him and secondly what do you mean you barely liked him? I thought you slept with him?"

"Alright point taken but I'd like to think I'm a better actress now than I was two years ago. Also I didn't actually sleep with him, I lied to make Finn jealous." Rachel admits, blushing again.

"Oh.. so you're still…"

"Yeah."

"Well I've only been with Puck but you're not missing out on much." Quinn jokes.

"Having just admitted to being gay, I don't think you'd have the same experience with a guy as most girls."

"True, but I've only recently discovered that fact, thanks to you and your damn lips."

"I know what you mean, I wouldn't have figured out I'm bi if it weren't for that kiss. You don't think Santana planned that do you?"

"No… although she did know I liked you but she couldn't have… could she?"

"Well there's only one way to find out."

The girls met each other's eyes. "Brittany." They both said.


	9. Chapter 9

Kurt was on a mission, he walks in to school bright and early Monday morning with the sole intention of finding Rachel and confronting her. He knew something was going on, ever since he saw her checking out that cheerio. But now that she was denying Finn, he was even more suspicious. His step-brother had been moping around the house for days now and it was getting on Kurt's nerves so he needed an explanation and needed one now.

What he doesn't realise as he walks a few metres behind Quinn, is that he's about to get an answer a lot sooner than he had intended.

He sees Rachel walking towards him and was about to grab her attention before he notices something that changes everything.

It was very subtle, a blink and you'll miss it situation but he could've sworn that Rachel just winked at Quinn. A fact that was confirmed moments later when the blonde turned her head to watch Rachel walk away.

_Oh. My. God!_

Kurt was stunned, he stops moving completely, even though he was currently standing in the middle of the school corridor that was getting busier by the second.

His head was swarming with questions. _When, where and how did this happen?! Well there's only one way to find out._

* * *

Rachel was walking down the corridor with a spring in her step, she knew that Quinn had turned to watch her walk away after she'd winked at her.

The girls had talked for hours on Friday evening about the most random things, just getting to know each other a little better. It may sound strange that they still didn't know each other that well after going to school together for just over three years but they were never really that close, in fact they thought glee and Finn were the only things they had in common. Turns out they like the same films and tv shows, they both enjoy reading to escape reality and Quinn even admitted to liking Broadway, which lead to a long make out session. Not that either girl was complaining. It had taken them so long to find each other and they had a lot of catching up to do.

"Rachel?"

Once again she was brought out of her thoughts by Kurt and she smiles lightly as she thinks back to the first day of senior year when a wink changed everything.

"What's going on with you?" Kurt laughs. "You're daydreaming in the corridors, ignoring Finn and flirting with Quinn!"

_Oh crap._

"What? I was certainly not flirting with Quinn." She defends, a little too quickly.

"Rachel, you just winked at her."

"I… had something in my eye."

Kurt scoffs lightly and Rachel knows he isn't stupid enough to buy whatever lie she comes up with so she calmly drags him into the closest classroom.

"Alright fine I winked at Quinn."

"Oh I know, what I want to know is why?"

The brunette sighs, resting on the edge of a table. "You can't tell anyone okay?"

"Okay…" The boy nods.

"Well Quinn and I have kissed, like several times and I guess you could say we're seeing each other but Kurt we're keeping it quiet because I'm not sure either of us could handle the backlash of coming out in this small minded town, you know what it's like better than anyone. I mean I get hate anyway, being raised by two men but Quinn lost everything when she was pregnant, I don't want to be the one to cause her to lose it all again."

"You don't think she just wants to hide this to protect her rep? Or worse, because she's not actually into you?"

Rachel had thought about this, but there was something in the way that Quinn looks at her that makes her believe she's being truthful.

"No, I think for once in her life she's doing what she wants."

"Okay, I just don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't. I mean we aren't even official yet we're just testing the waters so my heart is safe for now."

"Right, for now."

* * *

Meanwhile Quinn was heading towards the cheerios locker room, hoping that Brittany would be in there, without Santana who never showed up to school earlier than necessary. Luckily she found what she was wishing for. The girl was sat on one of the benches changing her shoes after a workout.

"Hey Britt."

"Oh, hi Q."

"You're not mad at me are you?"

"For what?" The cheerleader asks, smiling up at Quinn.

"For you know, abandoning you and Santana all summer." Quinn blushes, sitting down next to her friend.

"No, I always knew you'd find your way back."

"Good, anyway I wanted to ask you if you knew anything about Santana's intentions last weekend? If she purposefully chose Rachel and me to play 7 minutes together?"

"Um…" The dancer hesitates. "Santana told me not to answer that…"

"I knew it." Quinn scoffs.

As she moves to stand, Brittany stops her.

"Wait Quinn don't be angry at her, she wasn't doing it to be mean or anything. In fact it was the opposite, she wanted you to be happy."

"No way, San isn't that selfless."

"Alright you can't tell her I told you but she wanted to make things easier on us. She could tell you like Rachel and thought if the 'HBIC' came out then it would be easier for us to do the same."

Quinn's demeanour instantly softens. "Really?"

"Yeah, San may act like she's all tough but deep down she's scared about what people will do when they find out she's gay."

"Honestly, I know how she feels, and that's exactly why Rachel and I are hiding."

"What?"

"Um, nothing." Quinn mumbles before rushing out of the locker room hoping Brittany didn't realise what she meant.

However, as she takes a sip of water, Brittany smirks knowing that Santana's plan worked.

* * *

Quinn grins as she walks towards calculus class, she gets to spend the next hour sat next to Rachel just chatting and laughing with no one getting suspicious as they'd been doing this all year.

"Hey." Rachel smiles as Quinn slides into the seat next to her.

"How do you always get here before me?" Quinn laughs.

"Well I guess I just walk faster from my previous class."

"Last class Berry."

"Same difference."

"Am I going to need to buy a thesaurus? So I can understand you?" Quinn teases.

"Hmm maybe you should buy one anyway, your vocabulary always leaves a lot to be desired."

"Ouch, all of my classes happen to be AP you know. How many of yours are AP?"

"Three." Rachel mumbles.

"That's what I thought."

"But English is one of them."

"I know, I've seen you in class, sitting and gossiping with Kurt the whole time. Do you even make any notes?"

"Jealous?" Rachel questions, ignoring Quinn's jab about making notes.

"Of Kurt? Hardly."

The brunette laughs lightly. "Though speaking of Kurt, he may or may not know about us." She adds in a hushed tone.

"What? How?"

"He saw you checking me out earlier so it's all your fault really."

"Really? My fault? Even though you winked at me first?" Quinn whispers back, smirking.

"Well, I only winked because you were looking especially hot today."

"So you were checking me out first?"

"Maybe. Alright fine it's my fault that he knows but he's promised not to tell anyone. Are you mad?"

"No, I can't be mad actually because I think Britt and therefore Santana knows."

"Quinn…" Rachel moans.

"What? You can't be mad either. It only happened because I was asking her about San's party, which she totally planned by the way but I'll explain her reasoning later, and I said something that gave it away."

"We really need to be more careful."

"Yeah we do." Quinn laughs.

* * *

"Rachel?" Quinn says, half an hour into the lesson.

"Yeah?"

"Why do you always wear… um… animal sweaters and stuff?"

"Why?" Rachel asks, panicked that Quinn is asking because she doesn't want to be seen with her wearing these clothes.

"Just, um, because well when you were working out a couple weekends ago, I saw that you actually have a great body. Plus you look amazing in glee outfits, like the second Lady Gaga one, the Britney one and in sophomore year when I got Kurt to persuade you to dress 'slutty' to distract Finn." The blonde blushes, speaking quietly so only Rachel would hear her.

Rachel grins at the compliment. "Well to tell you the truth, it's because on the first day of school, freshman year, I wore really trendy, expensive clothes and got slushied. People knew from junior and middle school that I was a loser and so I was one of the first to get slushied. So from then on I've worn cheaper clothes so it doesn't matter if they get ruined."

Quinn frowns, she vaguely recalls seeing a girl get slushied on the first day but didn't realise it was Rachel as she hadn't known her then. "I'm sorry, for all the times I've been responsible for people slushing you."

"It's fine Quinn, you've more than made up for it." Rachel winks.

Quinn smiles as she goes back to her work.

_Thank God for Rachel and her second chances._


	10. Chapter 10

The day after Finn revealed his plan for this week's glee assignment and Kurt and Blaine had performed 'Perfect' by P!nk, Rachel raises her hand during glee.

"Rachel?" Mr Schue prompts.

As she moves to the front of the choir room she catches Quinn's eyes and doesn't break the contact as she addresses the room.

"So most of you know me as the girl who never breaks the rules, especially in glee but this song doesn't quite meet the brief because although it's sung to a girl it's originally performed by a guy. However, I have rearranged the song, giving it a more slow, acoustic sound so hopefully it'll still be okay for this assignment. Also, it's very suitable for the current situation." Rachel says, making sure Quinn knew she was talking to her.

The brunette had texted Quinn the night before, telling her that she was singing this song for her and although a lot of the words weren't true yet, she sure hoped they would be soon.

"So this is for you…" Rachel continues, finally tearing her eyes away from Quinn and landing them on the girl next to her. "…Santana."

" _When I need motivation  
My one solution is my queen  
'Cause she stay strong (yeah yeah)  
She is always in my corner  
Right there when I want her  
All these other girls are tempting  
But I'm empty when you're gone  
And they say_

_"Do you need me?  
Do you think I'm pretty?  
Do I make you feel like cheating?  
And I'm like no, not really cause_

" _Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader  
She is always right there when I need her  
Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader  
She is always right there when I need her_

" _She walks like a model  
She grants my wishes like a genie in a bottle (yeah yeah)  
Cause I'm the wizard of love  
And I got the magic wand  
All these other girls are tempting  
But I'm empty when you're gone  
And they say_

" _Do you need me?  
Do you think I'm pretty?  
Do I make you feel like cheating?  
And I'm like no, not really cause_

" _Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader  
She is always right there when I need her  
Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader  
She is always right there when I need her_

" _She gives me love and affection  
Baby did I mention, you're the only girl for me  
No I don't need a next one  
Mama loves you too, she thinks I made the right selection  
Now all that's left to do  
Is just for me to pop the question_

" _Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader  
She is always right there when I need her  
Oh I think that I found myself a cheerleader  
She is always right there when I need her."_

"My place, after school." Quinn mutters into Rachel's ear as everyone moves to the front to praise her on her arrangement.

* * *

The girls walk in Quinn's bedroom and the blonde sits nervously on the edge of her bed as Rachel's eyes scan the room.

"Doesn't feel so good when the shoe's on the other foot does it?" Rachel teases, thinking back to the time when Quinn scanned her bedroom after waking up.

She then wanders towards the ensuite. "Ooh I remember what happened in here." She winks and Quinn smirks as she remembers the feeling of the diva's fingers in her hair.

Suddenly, Rachel gasps. "Quinn! I didn't know you had a pull up bar!"

"Yeah." The blonde blushes. "And?"

Rachel doesn't bother to reply, she just raises an eyebrow and jumps, catching her weight by grabbing the bar. Quinn's mouth falls open as she watches the girl do several pull ups without any struggle or hesitation.

"Wow Rach, who knew you were so ripped."

"Yeah... well... I am light." She responds between reps.

Quinn chuckles and gets up, moving to stand in the doorway, inches away from Rachel.

As the brunette lowers herself, she wraps her legs around the other girl's waist and let's Quinn take her weight before releasing the bar and resting her hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Hmm, you are light." Quinn teases, tilting her head back so she's looking up into the deep brown eyes that she constantly gets lost in.

"Told you." Rachel smirks. "Can I kiss you?"

"Like you even need to ask."

The brunette's smirk turns into a full blown smile as she lowers her head towards Quinn's lips.

"Quinnie?!"

Quinn drops Rachel, surprised at hearing her mother's voice.

"Ouch, Quinn!" The singer whines but her complaint falls on deaf ears as Quinn is still frozen in shock.

She huffs as she climbs up off the floor which grabs the blonde's attention.

"Shit, sorry Rach. Um, so my mom's home."

"I can tell." Rachel mutters, still annoyed that she was dropped.

"Do you mind climbing out the window?"

"What?"

Rachel assumes that Quinn is joking until she sees her apologetic look.

"Are you serious right now Quinn?"

"I… well… the last my mother heard, I bullied you. I need time to tell her that we're friends now before I even tell her that we're more than friends…"

"Quinnie?" Judy Fabray calls again. "I'm not home for long I just want to talk to you about something."

"There see you don't even have to leave, just hide please." Quinn begs as she hears her mother climbing the stairs.

"Fine." Rachel grumbles, before entering Quinn's walk-in wardrobe.

As soon as the wardrobe door is shut, Judy enters the room.

"There you are, did you not hear me calling you?"

"Um yeah sorry Mom, I was doing homework."

Judy scans the room but sees no evidence of her daughter's homework. She chooses to ignore it for now.

"So I'm going out for dinner."

"Okay." Quinn shrugs, not seeing how this was different to usual, her mother was hardly ever home for dinner.

"But um, with a guy."

"Oh you mean a date?"

"Yes."

Quinn smiles. "Well as long as he's better than Dad I really don't care, thanks for telling me though."

"Thanks Quinnie. Have fun with your friend." Judy chuckles.

"What?"

"I can see their shadow through the slats in the wardrobe door sweetie, but as long as it isn't a boy I don't mind."

Rachel, who could hear everything, felt her heart rate quicken then drop when Judy mentioned it being a boy. How was she going to react when she knew the truth?

"I guess you can come out now." She hears Quinn sigh.

Judy watches with a shocked expression as the girl her daughter used to bully emerged from the wardrobe.

"Oh, Rachel right?"

"Yes, Mrs Fabray."

"Please, call me Judy, I haven't been a Fabray for years."

"Yes, of course, Judy."

"Well, have a nice evening and I'll talk to you tomorrow Quinnie."

Quinn blushes as her mother kisses her on the cheek before finally leaving, and a few minutes later the girls hear the front door open and close.

"Maybe I should've climbed out the window." Rachel jokes.

"What am I going to do?"

"What?"

"You saw her face Rachel, and she wants to talk tomorrow. I'm pretty sure she knows what's going on."

"How could she know? She said 'as long as it's not a boy' she thinks you're straight."

"I guess." Quinn sighs, collapsing onto her bed, lying on her back and covering her face with her hands.

Rachel decides to distract her and climbs over the blonde, straddling her hips.

"I believe you owe me a kiss, plus a couple others for dropping me."

Quinn smirks up at the girl. "That I can do."

* * *

Rachel can't help but smile at the irony of singing 'I Kissed a Girl' later in the week, however she's jealous that she has to dance with Mercedes whilst Tina got to dance with Quinn, plus she had to sing the line ' _hope my boyfriend don't mind it_ ' and she didn't miss the optimistic look in Finn's eyes as she did so.

Quinn didn't miss it either.

As soon as the song finishes, Finn gets up to talk to Rachel but Quinn has other ideas and pulls the girl into a hug, causing Finn to take a step back in surprise.

"Listen up." Quinn announces releasing Rachel from the hug but keeping hold of her hand.

Rachel meanwhile, was panicking over what Quinn was about to reveal.

"Rachel and I are friends now, if anyone has a problem with that or is confused, I don't care, get over it." The blonde finishes and Rachel relaxes, she should've known Quinn wouldn't tell everyone without talking to her first.

As Quinn leads Rachel out of the room, Santana turns to Brittany.

"Right they're 'friends' now." She smirks, using finger quotes around the word friends.

"What? You think there's more to it?" Puck asks from behind them.

Santana instantly panics, not realising the boy had been that close.

"Um, no, I just think Quinn may be using her." The Latina lies, causing Puck to shrug and walk away.

Unfortunately, Santana's lie was about to cause more problems than it solved as Puck wasn't the only one close enough to hear them.

Standing a few feet away was Kurt, and he was now very concerned for his friend.

_Oh Rachel, what have you gotten yourself into?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix) by Omi but I've pictured it stripped back and slower like Rachel described.


	11. Chapter 11

Rachel didn't have a chance to ask Quinn how the talk with her mother had gone until the following Monday, almost a week after Judy had caught her in Quinn's bedroom. However, on her way to find the blonde, Kurt came up to her.

"Quinn's using you."

"Excuse me?"

"I heard Santana telling Puck that she's just using you, after Quinn announced you were 'friends' now."

Rachel's mind starts racing, was Santana just lying to cover up the truth, or was she telling the truth that only she and probably Brittany knew?

"No… I, I trust Quinn."

"Why? She's been nothing but terrible to you since Freshman year, including when all she had was the glee club, do you not remember the 'glist'?"

Of course she remembered the glist, it still hurt her whenever she thought about it, being bottom of that dreadful list. But what really caught Rachel's attention was the initial question. Why? Why did she trust Quinn? The girl hadn't exactly apologised for all that she'd done to the singer over the years. So what made Rachel think she'd changed? Also why would Santana lie? Sure she was close to Quinn but she didn't have any loyalties towards Rachel. Maybe she _was_ being played. It wouldn't surprise her, she wasn't exactly anyone's favourite person and she wouldn't put it past the unholy trinity to play a prank on her. But to play with her feelings? Would they stoop that low?

Probably.

* * *

Quinn was confused. Rachel had been ignoring her all day, and even made a point of sitting between Finn and Kurt in glee so they couldn't sit together. She'd also skipped calculus which was unheard of, Rachel Berry had 100% attendance even when she'd had laryngitis.

She'd been wanting to talk to the brunette about the talk with her mother as it had finally happened last night when her mother came home from work early enough to talk for the first time all week. It had been a stressful conversation and she just need to talk to someone about it, and Rachel was the only one she wanted to talk to.

She caught Rachel looking over her shoulder at her during Mr Schue's pep talk at the beginning of glee, a confused expression on her face so Quinn tried her best to look back with an expression asking what was wrong, but the brunette just turned back to the front and Quinn spotted Kurt placing a hand on her thigh.

Maybe Rachel wouldn't tell her what was going on, but she hoped that Kurt might.

* * *

"Kurt."

The boy froze when he hears Quinn calling his name.

_Crap._

"How can I help you Quinn?"

"What's going on with Rachel? I know you know more than most people about us so what's up with her? Did I do something wrong?"

"I really don't want to get in the middle." He mumbles, knowing full well he already had done exactly that.

"Just tell me how I can fix it."

_Huh. Maybe she is being genuine._

"Just talk to her."

"But she's ignoring me."

"Then do what Rachel would do." Kurt shrugs. "Go to her and don't take no for an answer."

He didn't know what Quinn was up to, if anything, but he knew that she and Rachel needed to talk it out. It was probably make or break but either way, Rachel would have her answer.

* * *

Rachel practically ran down her stairs when she hears the frantic knocking at the door but instantly panics when she sees Quinn standing there, a head bitch glare meeting her own worried look.

"You've been ignoring me." Quinn states, walking into the house without waiting for Rachel to step aside.

"Um, have I?"

"Don't play dumb with me Berry."

Berry. If that didn't tell Rachel what she wanted to know, nothing would.

"Alright I may have been ignoring you, but at least I'm not using you." The diva huffs, letting her anger take control.

"What? You think I'm using you? Do you not trust me?"

"Why should I trust you Quinn? It's not like you've been nice to me. Ever."

It hurt Quinn, to hear those words but she'd been taught to hide her feelings so decided to fight back.

"Yeah, okay I've never been nice to you, so why did you kiss me? Why did you let me in? This wasn't solely up to me."

"I guess I was following my heart rather than my head." Rachel conceded.

Quinn was torn, she was angry that Rachel even thought about her not being truthful but at the same time she was guilty, for tearing the girl down so much that anyone who showed her affection was a red flag in Rachel's mind.

"What brought this on?" The blonde asks.

"Santana told Puck you were using me, Kurt overheard and told me."

_So much for Kurt not wanting to get in the middle._

"And you believed it? Santana knows about us! She practically forced us together!" Quinn was yelling now but she couldn't stop herself.

Rachel was cowering at the sight of HBIC Quinn coming out. How did this go so wrong so soon?

"What choice did I have Quinn? Like I said, you've never been nice to me and it wouldn't surprise me if this was some Unholy Trinity trick."

"Have you not been paying attention Berry? I'm not part of the Unholy Trinity anymore, I fucked that up."

The brunette winced twice, firstly at the fact Quinn was still calling her Berry, and secondly at the sound of her swearing. Quinn never swore. Just as Rachel was about to argue back, the blonde spoke again.

"No, you know what? If you don't trust me, there's no point doing this. You got what you wanted, I won't talk to you anymore."

She stormed out of the house leaving Rachel still confused over Quinn's true intentions.


	12. Chapter 12

Once again, Rachel was daydreaming whilst walking the halls of McKinley High, so it wasn't really surprising when she turned a corner and yet again, walked into someone. However this time, the body wasn't tall and hard, it was slim and softer, plus this time she felt small hands rest on her waist, steadying her. Looking up, she saw hazel eyes gazing down at her. Rachel loses herself in the feeling of being so close to Quinn when the memory of last night comes crashing down on her. She steps back quickly, causing the blonde's hands to fall off her hips.

"Sorry." She mumbles, walking away before Quinn could say anything.

Rachel slips into a bathroom down the hallway when she feels the tears coming, however, much to her disappointment, the bathroom wasn't empty. Stood at the sink doing her makeup was Santana.

The brunette ducks her head and tries to move into a stall when the Latina notices and stands in the way.

"What up dwarf?"

"Why do you care?" Rachel sniffs.

"Coz Q's my girl and for some reason she likes you yet all morning she's been moping and now you're here in tears so something clearly happened. I repeat, what up dwarf?"

"As if you don't know."

"What did I do?"

"You told Puck that Quinn was using me."

"And you believed that? Ay dios mio, I was lying. Who even told you? Puck?"

"No, Kurt."

"Does Kurt know?" Santana asks, waiting until Rachel nodded before continuing. "Then why would he, or you, believe me?"

"Why would you lie?"

"Well firstly, because you don't want anyone knowing, you're welcome by the way, and second because like I said, Q's my girl."

"Exactly, you have loyalties to _Quinn_ not to me, so why wouldn't the two top bitches team up to humiliate me?" Rachel snapped.

"That's messed up Berry. You have some major trust issues."

"Well whose fault is that?"

With that, Rachel stormed out of the bathroom, no longer in the mood to cry.

* * *

"Get out of here bowtie, I need to speak to Hummel."

Both Kurt and Blaine look up from their lunches to gaze at Santana with confusion.

"Did I stutter? Get lost gel boy."

"Good luck." Blaine mutters to his boyfriend before leaving the cafeteria.

"Why did you tell Rachel what I said to Puck?"

"She has the right to know if Quinn is using her."

"But she's not."

"I heard you say it Santana."

"So? I lied, you realise they wanted to keep it a secret right? So I threw Puck off the scent, sue me."

"But…"

"No buts Hummel." The cheerleader interrupts. "You broke them, you fix them."

Kurt sits with his mouth open watching Santana walk away, wondering why she was so keen to get Quinn and Rachel together if it wasn't a prank.

* * *

"Quinn, can I talk to you for a minute?"

The blonde sighs, closing her locker.

"It's been a long day Kurt, I just want to skip glee and go home."

"It won't take long I promise, you need to fix things with Rachel."

"You've changed your tune…"

"I know, I shouldn't have said anything but trust me when I say I was only trying to save Rachel from another heartbreak. However, having watched her this afternoon I noticed that I may have done the opposite, she's devastated. It was never like this when she had an argument with Finn, or when they broke up, she was sad sure, but this is another level. I didn't even get invited round for ice cream and a night of watching romcoms which is the usual routine when this sort of thing happens."

"So?"

"So… you need to fix this or she's going to give up on her dreams."

"What?"

"She'll go back to Finn, and we both know he wouldn't cop it in New York so she'd give up NYADA for him, she'd stay here and be a perfect little girlfriend, until it was time for her to be the perfect wife. However, you, you I can see in the city, perhaps studying at NYU…" He persuades.

Truthfully, Quinn had looked in to courses at NYU when she and Rachel had started this… whatever this was so knew it was an option.

The blonde looked down the corridor just in time to see Rachel turning a corner, disappearing from view, as if her mind knew that she was about to leave from Quinn's line of sight so she had to look up at that moment.

"You're perfect for her Quinn."

But she doesn't reply, she just calmly makes her way down the hallway, towards her future.

* * *

Rachel had noticed Quinn talking to Kurt at the blonde's locker but couldn't bring herself to walk passed them so turned around and went back around the corner she'd just turned.

She was in the process of walking the long way to her own locker when she felt a hand grab her wrist and pull her into the auditorium.

Once they were on stage, Rachel pulled out of Quinn's grip.

"What do you want?"

"You."

Rachel scoffs. "You sound like Finn."

"Don't say that." Quinn comments, scrunching her nose up.

"No really, he said that exact thing to me at the beginning of the year."

"What did you say?"

"I said no, obviously. I said that everyone gets a second chance but no one deserves more than that."

"How many have I had?" The blonde asks, stepping closer to the shorter girl.

"Too many." Rachel admits, noticing how close she and Quinn were but not strong enough to move away.

"Do I get another?"

"Why should you?"

Instead of replying, Quinn simply lowers her head and kisses Rachel softly. The brunette pulls away but still doesn't step back.

They stare into each other's eyes for what seems like an eternity.

"This shouldn't be happening, someone like you shouldn't like someone like me." Rachel admits, finally stepping away.

"Rachel, you're beautiful and honestly, I don't want you to end up like my mom."

"What?"

"You like being in a relationship, if you go back to Finn, he'll convince you to stay in Lima, he doesn't belong in New York so you'll follow him around like a lost puppy. I've watched my mom, I've seen what being a housewife does to her, she used to spend the whole day drunk just to pull through. But ever since she left my dad and got a job, she's happier. You deserve that same happiness Rachel, you deserve better."

"Firstly, just because I'm not with you doesn't mean I have to go back to Finn. Secondly, you think you belong in New York? Since when?"

"You don't know me."

Rachel chuckles. "Oh but I think I do. You may hide behind your head bitch in charge persona but graduation's fast approaching and I know you're just as scared as everybody else. You can't just say you suddenly want to come to New York with me, we're supposed to be enemies Quinn, you push me, I push back, you yell at me, I yell louder, that's just how it works."

The diva climbs down from the stage and begins walking up the stairs towards the back exit.

Quinn panics, wanting more time to explain, wondering how to get her to stay, then it hit her.

" _Wait, can you turn around, can you turn around?  
Just wait, can we work this out, can we work this out?  
Just wait, can you come here please?  
Cause I wanna be with you…" _She sings.

Rachel pauses in the doorway but doesn't turn around.

"We're late for glee." She states before exiting, leaving Quinn on the stage trying to figure out how this went so wrong so quickly.

She replays Rachel's speech in her mind when she gets an idea.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Quinn rushes into the choir room, making almost everyone jump.

"Sorry I'm late, I was practising."

"Practising for what?" Mr Schue asks.

"I want to sing a solo, it's not my normal style but it's more the words that I relate to."

"Well then, the floor is yours." Mr Schue smiles, moving to sit with his students.

As Quinn hands the sheet music to the band, she makes eye contact with Rachel, making sure the girl knows this is for her.

" _You think you know me but you don't, know me.  
You think you own me but you can't, control me.  
You look at me and there's just one thing that you see,  
So listen to me, listen to me!_

" _You push me back, I push you back, harder, harder.  
You scream at me, I scream at you, louder, l-l-l-l-louder.  
I'm dangerous, I'm warning you.  
But you're not afraid of me, and I can't convince you,  
That you don't know me._

" _You think you got me but you don't, get me.  
You think you want me but you don't know what you're getting into.  
There's so much more to me than what you think you see.  
So listen to me, just listen to me!_

" _You push me back, I push you back, harder, harder.  
You scream at me, I scream at you, louder, l-l-l-l-louder.  
I'm dangerous, I'm warning you.  
But you're not afraid of me, and I can't convince you,  
That you don't know me._

" _And the longer that you stay, the ice is melting.  
And the pain it feels okay, it feels okay-ay, hey.  
You push me back, I'll push you back.  
You scream at me, I'll scream at you, louder, louder,  
Louder, louder, louder, louder.  
Louder! Louder! Louder!_

" _You push me back, I push you back, harder, harder.  
You scream at me, I scream at you, louder, l-l-l-l-louder.  
I'm dangerous, I'm warning you.  
But you're not afraid of me, and I can't convince you,  
And I don't have to, I think you know me."_

Everyone applauds, well everyone except Rachel, who is studying the blonde carefully.

"Well I don't think anyone is going to top that so why don't we call it a day?" Mr Schuester laughs, clapping Quinn on the back.

As the rest of the glee club collects their things and leave the choir room, Quinn and Rachel stay where they are, Quinn standing in the middle of the room, Rachel sat front and centre in her chair.

"I do know you." The brunette comments once they are alone.

"Is that so?" Quinn smirks, moving to sit next to the girl.

"Yeah, which is why I'm so confused."

"About?"

"Why you'd like me, you're the prettiest girl I've ever met Quinn, and I'm just… me."

"Rach, you're beautiful okay? You may not believe me yet but trust me, you are. Do you remember when you last said that I was pretty?"

"Junior prom." Rachel chuckles. "Right after you slapped me."

"Yep, I think that was when I first realised I was falling for you, I just didn't have the strength to admit it until now."

"What changed?"

"I'm not sure, but you broke down my barriers this year after I'd spent the whole summer changing myself, building them back up, stronger."

"You know when I first felt myself falling for you?" The brunette asks, knowing full well Quinn would never guess it.

"When I dyed my hair?" Quinn laughs.

"No, though that was insanely attractive I have to admit. It was actually when you performed It's A Man's World, something in me just sort of… switched on. Sure I'd noticed girls before and questioned my sexuality but it wasn't until that moment that I knew."

"But… I was… fat."

"Pregnant Quinn, you were pregnant, which confused me even more but it didn't matter, you were so into the performance it was just… hot. I used to dislike the song but now every time I hear it I think of you and smile. Though I think this song is now my new favourite." Rachel smirks, gesturing to the floor on which Quinn had just performed.

"So… what now?" Quinn blushes, wanting to get the attention off herself.

"I think we should take this for a test run, outside of school. Where we'll be welcome with open arms."

"Where?"

"Do you have plans Friday evening?" The singer asks, ignoring Quinn's question.

"No."

"You do now."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first song Quinn sang was the chorus from Wait by Maroon 5, the second song, You Don't Know Me by Elizabeth Gillies.
> 
> Where do you think Rachel is taking Quinn? ;)


	13. Chapter 13

The girls went back to normal from then on, well the new normal. They sat together in calculus and glee, talking and giggling throughout both as well as stealing kisses whenever they were alone.

After school on Wednesday they'd finally talked about Quinn's talk with her mother. Quinn had explained to Rachel that Judy hadn't been happy at first but Quinn cried and begged her to understand that she was still the same girl and that Rachel had saved her so many times before, that she needed Rachel and Judy eventually saw that her daughter was right, if she was happy, what else mattered?

The rest of the week flew by and Quinn soon found herself sat in her bedroom, half an hour before Rachel was due to pick her up trying to decide what to wear. The girl was never late so she had to be ready soon. However, she realises that as she didn't know where they were going, how was she supposed to know what to wear? So she texted Rachel.

**Q – Hey, what should I wear?**

The reply was almost instant.

**R – Something comfortable, yet sexy… ;) x**

Quinn smirks. "If she wants sexy, she'll get sexy." She mutters to herself before grabbing the perfect outfit from her wardrobe.

* * *

Rachel was nervous as she walked up the path towards the front door of the Fabray residence.

She was anxious about seeing Quinn's mother again, they hadn't met since the time she caught Rachel hiding in Quinn's closet.

Taking a deep breath, Rachel knocks on the door. Judy opens it a few moments later.

"Hello Rachel, Quinn will be ready in a few moments, please come in."

"Hi Mrs, um, Judy." Rachel blushes, stepping into the house.

"You look lovely dear."

"Thank you." The brunette smiles shyly, pulling at the hem of her sinfully short shorts.

"I'm so glad you and Quinnie made up, she came home in tears on Monday evening, refusing to talk to me and just locked herself in her room all night. She even begged me to let her stay home from school the next day."

"Mom…" Quinn whines from the top of the stairs.

"Well I'm definitely thankful you made her attend." Rachel teases before losing her breath at the sight of Quinn. Her hair was loose, flowing down to just passed her shoulders, she was wearing a knee length black coat, pulled tightly around her body and Rachel smirks, knowing she was wearing it because her mother would disapprove of her outfit, wishing she herself thought of that.

"Ready to go Rach?" Quinn asks, having reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Um almost." Rachel smiles, turning to Judy. "Would you mind if Quinn stayed at mine tonight? My dads will be home I just don't know how late we are going to be and wouldn't want to wake you."

"That's fine dear." Judy says, returning the girl's smile before turning to her daughter. "My phone will be on silent but text me when you get to the Berry's so I'll see it in the morning and know you're safe, and let me know when to expect you tomorrow, or Sunday." She adds, giggling slightly.

"Will do Mom." The blonde replies, kissing her mother on the cheek before following Rachel out to her car. "You realise I don't have any pyjamas or anything packed?" She asks Rachel once out of earshot from her mother.

"Who said you needed pyjamas." Rachel winks before laughing at Quinn's shocked expression. "Relax I'm sure I have something that will fit you, plus we have a ton of spare toothbrushes, you can keep one in my bathroom."

They climb into the car and Rachel turns on the radio before driving away.

Quinn gets so lost in singing along to the radio that she forgets to pay attention to where they're going until Rachel pulls into a car park and she sees where they are.

"Oh hell no."

"What?" Rachel smiles deviously.

"Rach, you're serious? You brought me to Scandals?!"

"I said I wanted to take you somewhere we'd be accepted, you probably could've guessed." The brunette shrugs. "Come on, it's ladies night."

Rachel pouts, knowing that Quinn will cave any minute.

"Fine, but you owe me."

"Yay." The diva grins. "And don't worry, I'll definitely make it up to you." She winks.

Quinn pales as Rachel climbs out of the car.

_Two can play at this game._ She thinks, getting out and removing her coat, throwing it onto the backseat of Rachel's car. As she turns back to face the shorter girl, she sees her staring, mouth open.

Quinn smirks. "You said sexy."

Rachel nods, too shocked to respond, she looks Quinn up and down once more. The blonde is wearing a red dress that's even shorter than her shorts and is also low cut, showing the perfect amount of cleavage.

"I also said comfortable." She points out, once she's found her voice again.

"That's what the flats are for." Quinn laughs, pointing at her feet. "Plus I didn't want you to feel even shorter."

"Now that was uncalled for."

"Hmm maybe, but you shouldn't worry, I like short girls, they're sexy."

Quinn starts walking towards the club entrance. "You coming?" She calls over her shoulder to Rachel, who was busy watching Quinn's ass.

The brunette swiftly locks her car and catches up to Quinn at the entrance, she shows the bouncer the fake IDs she acquired and he lets them in.

"Do I want to know where you got those?" Quinn whispers.

"Santana."

As soon as they reach the main room they find it packed with women, it was ladies night after all, however there were still a few guys, scattered around near the walls too scared to approach the dancefloor.

"Come on, I'll buy you a drink." Rachel smiles, leading Quinn to the bar. "I obviously won't be drinking but that doesn't mean you can't."

"Okay, but just one then I'm switching to sodas."

Rachel was aware of all the people staring at them as they made their way through the club.

_Maybe ladies night was a bad idea, no one can take their eyes off Quinn, not that I blame them._

Quinn notices Rachel's mood and instantly connects it to the attention she's getting. So after Rachel orders drinks, she takes a seat at the bar and pulls Rachel close, wrapping her arms around the girls waist.

"I'm not interested in anyone but you Rach, let them stare. Plus I'm sure plenty of eyes are on those shorts too." Quinn smirks, running her hands down Rachel's back and onto her butt.

The blonde spreads her legs and pulls Rachel between them.

"Quinn are you sure that's wise with the length of your skirt?"

"No one can see anything because you're standing in the way." Quinn says, tilting her head up slightly. "How does it feel to be taller?"

"I thought you said you liked short girls." Rachel replies, rolling her eyes before looking down and gasping at the view down Quinn's dress from this angle.

Quinn takes one hand off from Rachel's ass and uses it to lift Rachel's chin slightly before leaning forward and capturing the brunette's lips between her own, her hand moving down and joining her other hand once more. Rachel wraps her arms around Quinn's neck and deepens the kiss.

A cough from behind Quinn pulls the girls apart and they look round to see the bartender looking at them, one eyebrow raised. She hands them their drinks.

"Thank you, Jade." Rachel smiles, seeing the name on the girl's name tag, while Quinn buries her head into the singer's chest, embarrassed. "Quinn, your drink is here."

Quinn looks up and sees that Jade has moved down the bar to serve someone else.

"I'm mortified, I can't believe we just made out in public."

"Look around you Quinn, no one cares."

Quinn does look up and around the room, noticing others either dancing, drinking or kissing someone themselves. A smile creeps onto her face.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"It's just, nice. You were right, I needed to be in a place like this, where I would be accepted, welcome even." Quinn explains. "Even though it's not exactly legal." She adds in a whisper.

The girls were still pressed together, Rachel still standing between Quinn's legs. Rachel plants a soft peck onto Quinn's lips before stepping away and pushing Quinn's knees together before sitting on her lap.

"I'm so happy." She comments.

"Me too Rach, me too."

* * *

Half an hour, they were still sat at the bar, Quinn was about halfway through her bottle of cider, which Rachel had discovered she liked at her party last year, whilst Rachel was on her second glass of Pepsi Max.

"Dance with me?" Quinn whispers into Rachel's ear.

"I thought you'd never ask."

The brunette jumps off Quinn's lap and allows herself to be lead onto the dancefloor. Quinn positions them so they're face to face, Rachel's body pulled closely to her own and wraps her arms around the girl's waist due to the slow tempo of the current song.

"I've never slow danced with a girl before." Quinn comments. "I like it."

Rachel winks and links her hands behind the blonde's neck, pulling her impossibly closer.

The next song is more upbeat so Rachel spins round and begins grinding against a shocked Quinn, who eventually relaxes and places her hands on the singer's hips.

After a few songs, Rachel excuses herself to go to the bathroom so Quinn makes her way back to the bar.

"I watched your drinks for you." Jade, the bartender smiles as the blonde approaches.

"Thanks." She mumbles, still slightly embarrassed.

"Quinn Fabray…" A voice behind her states. "Never thought I'd see you here."

She spins round on her stool to face the newcomer, already recognising the voice.

"I could say the same to you Karofsky, you know it may be ladies night but something tells me that they aren't the kind of ladies you'd be looking for…"

Karofsky chuckles lightly, sitting next to Quinn. "What if I'm not looking for ladies?"

"Oh…" Is all that Quinn can say, so she downs the rest of her cider to fill the silence.

"Yeah…"

"But Kurt…"

"I bullied Kurt because I was jealous of him being so free, so open about who he was, plus I kinda liked him and it scared me so I pushed him away." Karofsky explains, knowing exactly what Quinn was about to ask. "But it looks like you and I aren't so different."

As Quinn is about to question what he means, she hears another voice behind her.

"Quinn… my feet hurt…"

It then clicks in the blonde's mind that Karofsky was right, she had treated Rachel the same way he had Kurt, maybe not as extreme but still similar, and for the same reasons.

As Rachel approaches the bar she suddenly notices who Quinn is sitting with.

"David? I think you misinterpreted the theme of ladies night." She giggles.

"Wow you two are similar, I'm not here for the ladies okay?"

Rachel frowns, slightly confused until she takes in David's shy expression, and Quinn's stunned one and the ball drops.

"Ohh, wow okay I did not see that one coming. Who knows?" Rachel asks, making herself comfortable on Quinn's lap again, knowing that the boy wouldn't out them as he had just shared his secret with them and presumably didn't want them to share it.

"Kurt, Santana and my parents."

"Santana?" Quinn asks, surprised that the Latina knew and was able to keep it a secret.

"Yeah, that's why we dated, to cover up that we… I mean that I'm gay."

"It's okay David we know about Santana and Britt, in fact they're not really hiding it anymore. Though your relationship with her does make a lot more sense now." Rachel explains, and Quinn nods in agreement. "How did your parents take it?"

"Dad was okay with it, my mom keeps saying she can fix me so that's not fun to deal with. What about you two, when did this happen? Have you come out?"

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that, it must be difficult living there at the moment. Quinn and I aren't even really official yet, just taking it on a test run, but I guess you could say it started about 3 weeks ago, opening night of West Side Story over a game of seven minutes in heaven."

The trio talk for a while before Rachel decides she's tired so the girls say goodbye and make their way home.

* * *

They change into their sleepwear separately, with Quinn borrowing some clothes that are slightly too big for the diva.

After texting her mother, Quinn makes it into the bed first and soon after, Rachel is crawling in beside her and curling up into her side.

"Thank you for tonight Rach." Quinn smiles, tilting her head to kiss Rachel on the forehead.

"No problem Quinn, I had fun. Plus it was for me as well, I needed this as much as you did, but I think I can safely say that I do trust you're serious now Quinn, no straight girl could've made it through tonight." Rachel giggles, but she feels Quinn stiffen as she says she can trust her. "What's wrong?"

"I need to tell you something…"


	14. Chapter 14

"I need to tell you something…"

The words were still echoing around the room, the silence stretching out before them, neither girl brave enough to break it.

They were both panicking but for different reasons, Quinn was worried about how Rachel would react to what she was about to reveal whereas Rachel was going through every possible outcome in her mind, focusing on the worst case scenarios.

Finally, Rachel lifts her head from where it was resting on Quinn's shoulder to look her in the eyes, hovering slightly above the blonde.

Quinn sighs, knowing it's now or never.

"Monday night… after our fight, I locked myself in my room, like my mom said, except, I wasn't alone."

Rachel frowns and moves away from Quinn, sitting upright next to her instead.

Quinn runs her hands over her face, trying to find the courage to continue.

"I called Puck and asked him to sneak in through my bedroom window, which he did." The blonde risks taking a look at Rachel and her heart sinks when she sees hurt in those brown eyes. "Nothing happened though, well we kissed for a while but when I realised what I was doing, and that I only wanted you I stopped it and we just cuddled."

The girl's hazel eyes had never left Rachel's face, scanning every inch, looking for a sign that she needed to leave. When the brunette doesn't respond for a few minutes, Quinn sits up and moves to climb out of the bed until a hand on her bare thigh stops her.

Quinn gulps at the feeling. _Why did I let Rachel give me shorts to sleep in?_ She wonders.

"Where are you going?"

"Um, well you were silent for a long time so I guessed you'd want me to leave."

"What? No, Quinn I'm just processing."

"So you're not mad?"

"Mad, no. Upset, maybe slightly but really I only have myself to blame. I was the one who pushed you away and into his arms. But the fact that you stopped because you were thinking about me is actually sexy, plus you were honest, that's all that really matters."

Quinn is trying very hard to concentrate on what Rachel is saying but the brunette never took her hand off Quinn's thigh and it's extremely distracting.

"Quinn?"

"Hmm?" The blonde looks up, tearing her gaze away from the small hand, moving it to Rachel's smirking face.

"Were you listening?"

"Yes, you said it was sexy, though I don't really see it."

"Well everyone has their own opinions." Rachel shrugs. "Was that all you wanted to say?"

"Well technically this isn't my secret to tell but I feel like you should know that Puck slept with Shelby."

"Ew, what?" The brunette scrunches her nose up in disgust. "So not only am I dating the girl who gave her daughter to my mom but now my mom is sleeping with the father of said baby. We should have our own reality show." She chuckles.

However Quinn didn't hear anything after 'dating'.

"I… we… dating?"

"Oh, well yeah I'd consider tonight a date wouldn't you?" Rachel blushes, previously unaware that she'd said the word dating.

"So, what is this? You and me."

"Something new."

* * *

Quinn wakes up in absolute bliss. She doesn't even remember falling asleep but suddenly sunlight was coming in through the windows and she was being pulled out of her dreams. Though for once she didn't mind, as her reality was better than her dreams.

Rachel was lying half on top of Quinn, her left arm around the blonde's waist, left leg tucked between Quinn's.

Quinn's left arm was wrapped around Rachel's back, hand resting on the girl's hip. She begins moving her hand until she feels the brunette start to wake up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She whispers once Rachel is awake fully.

"That's fine, it was a perfectly amazing way to wake up."

Quinn grins as Rachel lifts herself up to hover above her, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on her lips before sitting up fully.

The blonde pouts at the loss of contact.

Rachel giggles. "Sorry beautiful but I have morning breath and also I want breakfast, we didn't eat much last night."

"I'm so glad you said that because I can smell bacon."

"Well then you definitely aren't getting anymore kisses until you've brushed your teeth, thoroughly."

"Yes Miss." Quinn grins cheekily.

The girls rush downstairs, still in their sleepwear to find the two Berry men in the kitchen, Hiram was chopping fruit whilst LeRoy was cooking eggs and bacon at the stove.

Quinn accepts the glass of juice Rachel hands her and sits at the table, her offer of help rejected.

"How did you girls sleep?" Hiram asks.

"Should we be glad Rachel's room is soundproof?" LeRoy adds with a wink.

"We slept well thank you Dad, and that's all we did Daddy, for now anyway."

Quinn chokes on her orange juice. "Rachel!" She squeals.

"What? It's true, and we're very open in this household so I'd get used to that if I were you." The brunette smirks, patting Quinn on the back to ease the coughing.

"What are your plans for today?" Hiram questions, taking the attention off Quinn.

"Well I was hoping I could take Rachel somewhere, but I'll need to swing by my house as I don't have anything suitable to wear."

"Where are we going?" Rachel asks.

"It's a surprise."

"Quinn…" The singer whines. "I hate surprises."

"Yeah well after you took me to a gay bar I think you owe me this one."

"She took you where?" LeRoy intersects.

"Oh, um, seems you're not that open after all." Quinn blushes.

"You took her where Rachel?"

"Okay, I took Quinn to Scandals, we didn't drink though, well Quinn had one cider but I was driving."

Hiram sighs. "Well I suppose that's okay, just don't make a habit of it."

"Yes Dad."

"Yes Sir." Quinn adds when the man turns his stare towards her.

* * *

After a delicious breakfast, in Quinn's opinion, the girls head back upstairs and Rachel gets changed into something warm under Quinn's instructions whilst the blonde brushes her teeth.

As Rachel emerges from her ensuite she finds Quinn sat on her bed grinning.

"What?"

"I brushed my teeth, I used the bathroom down the hall to save time." The blonde winks.

"Hmm, is that so?"

"Yep, all traces of bacon removed, just for you. That spare toothbrush of yours is a life saver."

"What is it you want with your newly clean teeth?" Rachel teases.

Quinn rolls her eyes, crosses the room before Rachel can blink and pulls the girl into a kiss. After the initial shock, Rachel returns the kiss, opening her mouth to allow their tongues to meet.

"Mmm." Quinn hums as she pulls away. "As much as I'd like to do that all day, we're going to be late."

"Late? For what?"

"You'll see." The blonde winks, grabbing her things from last night before moving downstairs, hearing Rachel follow her.

They shout a quick goodbye to Rachel's dads before making the short drive to Quinn's house.

Rachel makes small talk with Judy while Quinn changes.

The blonde also makes sure to pack a small bag of clothes to keep at Rachel's so they wouldn't have to do this again anytime soon before the girls are on the road again.

"Rach, I know you'd probably like this to be asked in a more romantic way but will you be my girlfriend?" Quinn asks as she parks the car, hoping to distract Rachel enough that she doesn't notice where they are.

The brunette whips her head round to face Quinn, shock evident on her face.

"Well?" The blonde chuckles after a few moments of silence.

"Quinn, I'd love to be your girlfriend." Rachel grins.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the sake of this story, Santana has a little brother who is about 10 years old  
> Read and review :)

"You brought me to the park?" Rachel questions, finally tearing her eyes away from Quinn.

"Yeah, Santana, Brittany and I have a tradition to meet up here every other Saturday to feed the ducks. We've been doing it for years."

"I'm hanging out with the Unholy Trinity?" The brunette asks, panic written all over her face.

"No." Quinn insists, taking Rachel's hands between her own, causing the girl to look at her. "You're hanging out with your girlfriend and her friends, who will hopefully become your friends."

A smile takes over the singer's face. "I like the sound of that, but the day Santana calls me her friend will be the day Hell freezes over."

The blonde releases a laugh before climbing out of the car and moving round to the passenger side to help Rachel out.

"San has prepared a picnic and I did tell her to bring vegan food so hopefully you'll have something to eat other than fruit."

"Maybe I could just eat you." Rachel winks, laughing as Quinn's face pales. "Guess it'll be better to save that till later."

The brunette walks away from Quinn, leaving the blonde standing at her car, mouth moving up and down in shock.

"You coming?" Rachel calls over her shoulder.

"Apparently I will be later." Quinn mumbles under her breath, locking her car and following her girlfriend.

* * *

They find Santana and Brittany by the duck pond. The dancer spots them first and jumps up to give them a hug, the Latina opts for giving them both a nod in recognition.

Quinn settles on the grass next to Santana and Rachel sits down next to her, laying her legs over the blonde's.

"I can't believe you persuaded me to let the hobbit hang with us." Santana mumbles to Quinn while Brittany is talking to Rachel.

"Well excuse me for wanting to spend time with my girlfriend." Quinn responds, smirking at the look of shock on her best friend's face. "And don't call her that."

"Congratulations!" Brittany squeals, hugging Rachel, having heard Quinn say the word girlfriend. "Now all you need is a ship name."

Quinn scoffs whilst Rachel frowns in confusion.

"A ship name Berry, it's when couples put their names together." Santana sneers. "Britt and I are Brittana, Kurt and Blaine are Klaine."

"I'm aware of the premise Santana, I'm just trying to think of one for us."

"You should be Quinchel!" Brittany suggests excitedly.

Quinn scrunches her nose up. "No that just sounds like Finchel."

"Well your names are remarkably similar." Rachel laughs. "How about Luchel?"

"What? No we are not using Lucy in our ship name."

"Faberry."

All three girls turned to look at Brittany.

"What? It's perfect, it sounds cool and no one said you can't use last names, besides you two call her Berry anyway."

Rachel and Quinn exchange looks, confirming they were both happy with it.

"Okay Britt, Faberry it is." Quinn smiles.

"Right, food time." Santana announces, pulling open the picnic basket and laying out the blanket to place the food on.

To Rachel's surprise, there's three containers of food with her name on, full of vegan friendly snacks. One with sandwiches – with dairy free butter and Quorn mincemeat, another with a fruit salad and the last had vegan biscuits in.

"Looks like it's slightly chilly in Hell today." Quinn whispers to the brunette, who collapses with giggles.

"What?" The Latina pries.

"Nothing Santana, I'm just shocked that you went to so much effort just for me."

"It wasn't that much effort, my little brother is lactose intolerant so we have dairy free stuff lying around the house anyway." The cheerleader shrugs, not mentioning that she went to the shop for the Quorn.

"Well thank you anyway, it means a lot."

"Whatever Berry."

For Quinn, Brittany and herself, Santana had made bacon rolls – which were mainly for Quinn, sausage and egg sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies. She'd deny it if anyone asked but the Latina actually enjoyed cooking and baking for her friends and family.

* * *

After a pleasant afternoon in the park, the girls decided to go home as it was getting quite dark due to the shortness of the winter days.

Rachel pulls Quinn into her lounge as soon as they enter the Berry household, causing her dads to jump at their sudden appearance.

"Dad, Daddy, I would like you to meet Quinn…"

"Er, Rach…"

"…my girlfriend." Rachel finishes with a squeal, ignoring Quinn's confused interruption.

Quinn had been about to remind the girl she'd met her dads many times before until the brunette continued and caused the blonde to grin at her cuteness.

"Ah she finally asked you huh? Congratulations baby girl." Hiram smiles softly.

"Wait what makes you think I asked her?" Quinn questions. "I mean I did but surely she could've asked me."

"Well yes but you have met Rachel right?" Hiram laughs.

The blonde chuckles and nods. "Good point."

"Hey." Rachel pouts. "I could've asked."

"Sure you could've baby." Quinn smiles, kissing the shorter girl's temple.

"Anyway, we'll be upstairs if you need us."

"Are you staying the night again Quinn?" LeRoy asks as the girls move passed the couch.

"Yes." Rachel answers for her.

"If that's okay with you two." Quinn adds.

"Of course, just let your mother know."

The blonde manages to respond in agreement before Rachel has dragged her all the way up the stairs.

Quinn gulps as Rachel shoves her into her room and she hears the brunette lock the door.

"Rach…" She starts, turning to find Rachel standing inches away from her.

The singer tilts her head up to kiss Quinn, who backs away, causing her to pout once again.

"You don't want to kiss me?"

"No I do, of course I do, but I had bacon and stuff for lunch."

Rachel chuckles slightly before closing the gap between them again and pulling Quinn's lips to hers before the blonde can blink.

"I… what?" Quinn asks after breaking the kiss.

"Okay don't get mad but I was testing you earlier. As you're aware I can be a bit of a diva and asking you to brush your teeth was unreasonable I just wanted to see if you'd actually do it." Rachel blushes.

"Firstly, a bit of a diva? Slight understatement there." The blonde teases. "Also, you're serious? I don't have to brush my teeth every time I have meat?"

"No of course not, that's insane. You really think Finn would've done that for me?"

"I'd do anything for you."

"I'd do anything for you too." Rachel smiles, wrapping her arms around Quinn's waist before seeing the sceptical look on her girlfriend's face. "You know, if it benefits me."

"That's more like it." Quinn laughs.

"Speaking of… I think I promised something back at the park."

"Rach, I mean you didn't really promise but are you sure about this?"

"Well I'm not ready to have sex, which isn't what I hinted at anyway, but that doesn't mean I can't give you some… pleasure."

"You don't have to, I mean I'm perfectly happy waiting until you're ready and we can experience these things together."

"We will experience them together, it'll just be me experiencing giving and you experiencing receiving."

"You know that's not what I meant. Rach I want you to really think about…" Quinn's words turned into a moan as Rachel had pressed her fingers against Quinn's core, through her leggings. "God Rach."

"Hmm, that's what I thought. Trust me, I want to do this, for you."

"Well if I continue arguing I'm going to have to take a cold shower, but I have one condition."

"That is?"

Quinn tries to pull her thoughts together but Rachel hasn't moved her hand. "Um, oh yeah, I want to wait for proper sex until we're both going to experience it."

"And what would you class as proper sex?"

"Um, penetration." The blonde blushes, unable to think of a better word.

"Okay deal."

Without warning, Rachel shoves Quinn backwards and the blonde lands on the bed, wondering when she had gotten so close to it. Before she can move, Rachel climbs on top of her and attaches their lips in a soft, passionate kiss.

Quinn's hands automatically jump up to grip Rachel's hips, slipping under the girl's shirt.

"This is about you remember." The brunette murmurs against Quinn's lips.

"I know, but can you strip down a little? I'll feel less self-conscious that way."

"Okay."

Rachel sits up and whips off her top and t-shirt, leaving her sat above Quinn in just her black lacy bra.

The blonde gapes. "Wow, Rach…" She trails off, her hands venturing upwards across the girl's slim waist and toned stomach. "You're beautiful." Quinn finishes as she looks up and sees the uncertainty on the singer's face.

Rachel flinches when Quinn's fingers graze over a ticklish spot. "I'm not but thank you."

"You are, trust me."

The brunette smiles, leaning back down on top of Quinn to continue kissing her, taking control of the kiss as soon as Quinn parts her lips to allow their tongues to meet. As they kiss, Rachel trails her hands up the blonde's sides, bunching up her shirt as she goes.

Once Quinn's shirt is gathered around her neck, she breaks the kiss to pull it off completely and Rachel begins kissing her neck, gradually moving down her girlfriend's body, down the middle of her breasts, lips lingering on each of the girl's abs before reaching the hem of her leggings.

"Rach, are you sure you're sure?" Quinn asks as she feels Rachel begin to pull her leggings down.

"Yes, just relax Quinn."

Once Quinn's leggings are off completely, Rachel kisses her way up the blonde's legs, settling her body in between them once she reaches her destination.

Deciding to leave her underwear on so the girl wasn't completely naked when they both weren't, Rachel slides one finger under the crotch of Quinn's panties, pulling them to the side, revealing the girl's core.

Quinn gasps as she feels Rachel's breath against her wetness then gasps once more as Rachel places a kiss on her inner thigh before finally latching her lips onto the blonde's centre.

The brunette moans at the taste which sends vibrations through Quinn, causing her to moan even louder. Rachel quickly turns her attention to the girl's clit, flicking her tongue against it, smirking as Quinn begins thrashing on the bed.

After a few minutes in what Quinn would consider Heaven, she feels the pull in the bottom of her stomach that signifies she's close so reaches down and grips Rachel's hair, urging the girl to finish her off. Rachel takes the hint and moves her tongue faster and it's not long before Quinn's back arches off the bed and her whole body begins shaking with the force of her orgasm.

Rachel places one last kiss against the girl's core before moving to lie next to Quinn, noticing the blonde was so worn out she was on the edge of sleep. She helps Quinn move so she's lying in bed under the covers, curled up on her side. Rachel leans up on her elbow behind Quinn, just watching her, in what she considered to be a non-creepy fashion, until the blonde's breathing had evened out and Rachel assumes she's fallen asleep.

"I love you." The brunette whispers, before shifting to lie behind Quinn, not noticing the grin that had formed on Quinn's lips upon hearing those words.


	16. Chapter 16

Quinn was excited. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so excited for Christmas, maybe when she was a child, before she realised that Santa wasn't real and learnt what kind of person her father was. This year however, she was beyond thrilled, almost giddy. Things between her and Rachel had gone from strength to strength. Every Friday night she spent at the Berry's and every Saturday night they spent the night at Quinn's with her mother. She couldn't be happier.

They celebrated their win at Sectionals by spending the entire evening cuddled up together, either kissing or just laying there, enjoying the company.

They'd both been supportive of the other when Rachel wanted to do the TV special whilst Quinn wanted to work in the homeless shelter and Quinn couldn't stop grinning when her girlfriend and the rest of the glee club came to help out after cutting the show short.

Neither girl had mentioned the three little words that Rachel had whispered last week, in fact Rachel wasn't even aware that Quinn had heard her, but Quinn was ready now, ready to give up her heart to someone who could easily break it.

It was Friday, the last day of the school term before Christmas break and Quinn was taking Rachel out on a date tonight. A date in which she was going to bare her soul and fully commit to the brunette. She wasn't even nervous, she knew that Rachel loved her so why would she need to panic? She was about to get her happily ever after that every girl dreams of finding.

When she was a child, she used to play dress up with her sister. Frannie was always the bride and Quinn was always the groom. Occasionally their father would join in and he would pretend to be the vicar, just enjoying the smiles on his little girls' faces, pushing back the feelings of disgust of marrying two girls, even if they were sisters and it was all just pretend. If only Quinn knew back then that 10 years later she would be in love with a girl and considering marrying her one day. Every time the blonde pictured her future, Rachel made an appearance.

* * *

"Quinn, where are you taking me?"

"Be patient." The blonde laughs, guiding the blindfolded brunette down the hallway.

They'd just had a lovely meal at a vegan restaurant on the edge of town. Rachel was surprised Quinn took her to a place that only sold vegan food, not somewhere that served both but when the blonde had explained that she just wanted to do something nice, Rachel stopped complaining and enjoyed the dinner. Of course she started complaining again when Quinn reached for the bill but once again the girl persuaded her to let it go.

Rachel panicked when they got back into Quinn's car and she was told to put on a blindfold, and she panicked even more throughout the drive, it was very unnerving to be in a car whilst being unable to see. She'd tried to keep track of where they were going but Quinn had taken unnecessary turns to throw her off.

Quinn also took the long way round the building they'd entered just in case Rachel had managed to figure out where they were.

"Do you know where we are?" The blonde whispers once they'd come to a stop.

"Umm…" Rachel bites her lip, knowing Quinn isn't going to like her answer.

"Rachel!" Quinn whines. "How could you possibly know?!"

"Well I didn't until we got here but Quinn I've spent most of my life on this stage, I know what the floor sounds like when I walk on it, heck I even know what it smells like."

Quinn sighs and pulls the blindfold off the brunette. "I hate you."

"Aw, Quinn I may know where we are, but I don't know why we're here." Rachel admits, looking round the auditorium, until her eyes settle on the piano. "Are you going to sing to me?"

"Stop guessing things." The blonde pouts.

"Is Brad here?" Rachel asks, hoping the answer is no.

Quinn shakes her head no and Rachel suddenly pulls her into a kiss which Quinn returns greedily.

After a few glorious moments, Rachel pulls away.

"What was that for?"

"Sorry, you just looked so adorable with that pout. Plus I've been wanting a kiss since you pulled me out of glee to tell me we're going on a date."

"Well as amazing as that was, Mr Schue would only let me have the auditorium for a little while so will you please sit down?"

Quinn guides Rachel onto a nearby stool and positions herself at the piano.

"I didn't know you played." Rachel comments.

"And yet I thought you knew me." Quinn winks. "My father made me take lessons when I was younger, I don't play much because it reminds me of him making me practice but I thought I'd make an exception for you. Now as hard as it is for you not to talk, please just let me get through this."

Rachel opens her mouth to respond but then settles for a nod instead, earning a smirk from the blonde.

Quinn takes a deep breath before lowering her fingers to the keys and begins playing the song she's been practicing all week. On cue, she joins in singing.

" _What would I do without your smart mouth?  
Drawin' me in and you kickin' me out.  
You've got my head spinnin', no kiddin',  
I can't pin you down.  
What's goin' on in that beautiful mind?  
I'm on your magical mystery ride.  
And I'm so dizzy, don't know what hit me,  
But I'll be alright._

" _My head's underwater, but I'm breathing fine,  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind._

"' _Cause all of me,  
Loves all of you,  
Love your curves and all your edges,  
All your perfect imperfections.  
Give your all to me,  
I'll give my all to you,  
You're my end and my beginnin',  
Even when I lose, I'm winnin'._

"' _Cause I give you all of me,  
And you give me all of you, oh-oh."_

By this point in the song, there are tears streaming down both girls' faces, but Quinn pushes through the emotions to continue, smirking at the irony of the next two lines.

" _How many times do I have to tell you?  
Even when you're crying, you're beautiful too.  
The world is beating you down, I'm around,  
Through every mood.  
You're my downfall, you're my muse,  
My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues.  
I can't stop singin', it's ringin',  
In my head for you._

" _My head's underwater, but I'm breathing fine,  
You're crazy and I'm out of my mind._

"' _Cause all of me,  
Loves all of you,  
Love your curves and all your edges,  
All your perfect imperfections.  
Give your all to me,  
I'll give my all to you,  
You're my end and my beginnin',  
Even when I lose, I'm winnin'._

"' _Cause I give you all of me,  
And you give me all of you, oh-oh._

" _Give me all of you, oh,  
Cards on the table, we're both showing hearts,  
Risking it all, though it's hard._

"' _Cause all of me,  
Loves all of you,  
Love your curves and all your edges,  
All your perfect imperfections.  
Give your all to me,  
I'll give my all to you,  
You're my end and my beginnin',  
Even when I lose, I'm winnin'._

"' _Cause I give you all of me,  
And you give me all of you._

" _I give you all of me,  
And you give me all of you, oh-oh."_

Quinn lifts her fingers, resting her hands on her lap but doesn't look up from the keys.

"Quinn…" Rachel whispers.

"I love you." The blonde blurts out before she can stop herself.

When her confession is just met with silence she finally looks up at Rachel, however what she sees isn't the brunette. Her gaze instead lands on an empty room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: All Of Me, by John Legend. It's unnerving how much of the lyrics I was able to type out from memory…


	17. Chapter 17

Quinn snaps out of her stupor as soon as she realises that Rachel doesn't have a car to get home. She runs to the parking lot, looking left and right but can't spot the brunette anywhere so Quinn rushes to her car to try to find Rachel.

She soon finds the girl walking along the pavement, looking down at the ground so Quinn can't see her face as it's covered by her hair.

Quinn slows down, after seeing that there are no cars behind her, and winds down the passenger side window.

"Rach!"

The brunette just starts walking faster.

"Get in the car Rachel. It's late and dark."

Again Quinn is ignored so she pulls up to the kerb a little way in front of Rachel so the girl has to walk passed her car.

"Rachel Barbara Berry get in this car right now or I'll call your dads."

Of course Quinn didn't actually have the number of either of the Berry men but Rachel didn't need to know that.

Rachel growls in frustration before reluctantly climbing into the car. As soon as she's buckled her seatbelt Quinn drives away. They spend the duration of the drive in silence but Quinn can tell that Rachel is crying quietly, something she didn't know the diva was capable of.

Quinn pulls in to the Berry's driveway and Rachel mumbles a thank you before climbing out and entering her house causing the blonde to let out a scream in frustration.

* * *

LeRoy is halfway up the stairs, following his crying daughter who had stormed into the house a few moments ago, slamming both the front door and her bedroom door when the front door opens again and Quinn rushes in.

"What did you do?" He demands.

"I… what? How do you know I did something?" The blonde stammers.

"Rachel has four kinds of crying. There's the fake crying when she wants something, that always involves a tissue, the singing crying which obviously this can't be, the disappointed crying which always involves sobbing, and the silent, crying over a boy, or girl in this case. So I repeat, what did you do?"

"I'm honestly not really sure. I sang to her and then told her I loved her."

LeRoy faulters on his journey back down the stairs. "Really?"

"Yes really. Can I go speak to her?"

The tall man sighs. "My husband would say no but I think in this situation it would be best for you to talk to her yes."

Quinn grins and races up the stairs, taking them two at a time, knocking on Rachel's bedroom door as quickly as possible, in case LeRoy changed his mind.

"I don't want to talk to you Daddy." Rachel's broken voice came from inside her room.

"Good job I'm not your daddy then." Quinn laughs awkwardly as she lets herself in, closing the door behind her.

Rachel, who was lying on her bed, curled up in a ball, looks up as Quinn enters, keeping her knees tucked up to her chest. The two girls stare at each other for what seems like an eternity, neither moving, both unsure as to what was about to happen. Finally, Quinn snaps.

"What the HELL Rachel?!" She yells, causing Rachel to flinch and instantly stop crying. "You need to make up your damn mind, one minute you're pushing me away, the next you're begging to touch me then telling me you love me and then running away the minute I return that love."

"What?" Rachel mumbles, voice still weak from crying. "You heard me?"

"Yes, people don't fall asleep that quickly Berry."

"Don't call me that." The brunette snaps, sitting up. "I don't mind you calling me Berry when you're just teasing and flirting but in an argument I hate it, it just makes me think of the old you and that's not the Quinn I want to be dating. It's part of the reason I pushed you away last time."

Quinn immediately calms down. "I'm sorry, it's just habit I guess." She sighs, sitting next to Rachel on her bed. "I hate fighting with you, I never want to be the HBIC around you, I'm just confused over your actions and it made me mad that you didn't even say anything, we could've had a civil conversation but no, you had to run and make it so much bigger. I'm aware I yelled first but like I said, I was just frustrated."

Rachel takes Quinn's hand into her own. "I'm sorry too, I just got scared and didn't take a second to think I just… ran."

"Why?" The blonde whispers.

"I… When I was with Finn, I thought that I was in love but I've never felt like this and the past few days I've been panicking because I could feel myself getting lost in you and I'm not sure I want that. I still have the big Broadway dreams and I just don't what I'll do if I end up having to choose between those dreams and you."

"Rach, look at me. I won't ever make you choose, I know how much Broadway means to you, I've heard you go on about it for the past four years, so I won't stand in the way of your dreams."

"You mean you'd break up with me just so I can achieve that?" The brunette asks, breaking the eye contact and looking straight ahead at her wall.

"No. The opposite, I want to be there with you, not on stage but in the audience, cheering you on, bragging to all the strangers around me that you're my girlfriend. I want to walk down the streets of New York holding your hand, fighting off the paparazzi and ignoring all the rumours because we're stronger than that. Rachel, we can be in love and still live our lives separately."

"You'd move to New York? What about your dreams?"

"I think after college I'd be happy living in New York. I've never told anyone this but I've always been interested in writing as well as acting so I was thinking of applying to colleges that give me that and then after I graduate, it doesn't really matter when I live, I can live out my dream anywhere."

"What about during college? Will we survive the separation?"

"Rach you need to just relax and have trust in me, in us. Yes I've cheated before but I've never been in love with any of those boys, I am gay after all. Plus who said my college wouldn't be near to yours? Yale isn't that far from New York."

"You want to go to Yale?" Rachel asks.

"Yeah, I mean it has a great drama program and a creative writing course that I've been looking into."

Quinn waits for Rachel to respond but when she turns her head to glance at the brunette, she finds her already staring at her.

"I love you Quinn."

"I love you too Rachel."

Rachel pulls Quinn in for a kiss and the blonde returns it, finally happy. She had everything, she had love, she had a future and she had hope.

She pours all her feelings into that kiss and Rachel could tell, in fact they both almost simultaneously think that it's the best kiss they've ever shared. The best kiss of their lives in fact.

Rachel moves to straddle Quinn's lap, not breaking the kiss before running her tongue along the girl's bottom lip, begging to make the kiss deeper, to make it even more incredible than it already was and Quinn happily obliges.

"Quinn." Rachel whispers against her lips. "I want you."

"You've got me."

"No… I _want_ you."

"Really?" The blonde asks, leaning back to study the brown eyes staring back at her. "You're sure?"

"One million percent sure." The singer grins, leaning back in for another kiss.

This kiss is sloppier and more desperate, their tongues fighting for dominance instantly. Outside of the kiss, Rachel is definitely in charge and it was turning Quinn on.

The brunette leans forward more, causing Quinn to slowly fall back onto the bed. Before Quinn's back hits the duvet, Rachel whips off her top, breaking the kiss briefly only to latch back onto the blonde's lips as soon as the garment was out of the way.

Rachel's top soon follows, landing on the floor somewhere near Quinn's. Their skirts were next, removed quickly, the girls' movements fuelled by lust. Before either girl realised, they were both naked and wondering what to do next.

"Do you want to stop?" Quinn whispers, tucking a strand of hair behind Rachel's ear, trying to ignore the feeling caused by the girl still lying on top of her.

"No, I love you, what else matters?"

"Rach you shouldn't just be doing this because you love me."

"I'm not, I'm doing it because I want to, and because I love you."

"Then let's do it together."

At her nod, Quinn rolls onto her side so Rachel falls onto the bed next to her. Hesitantly, she starts running her fingers down the singer's body, pausing until she feels Rachel doing the same. They both release a moan as they reach each other's core.

"Your room is soundproof right?" Quinn laughs nervously, knowing there was a possibility that they were both going to be loud, Rachel especially judging by how loud she can go when singing.

"Of course, I am Rachel Berry after all."

Quinn positions one finger at Rachel's entrance and feels a finger at her own.

"Kiss me." Rachel begs as she pushes into Quinn.

The blonde moans, sliding her finger into Rachel as she slams their lips together, swallowing each other's moans. Quinn keeps her movements gentle at first so Rachel can get used to the feeling. Rachel on the other hand starts moving quicker and suddenly adds another finger, the shock causing the blonde to bite her lip.

"Ow Quinn." The brunette whines.

"Sorry babe." Quinn says, kissing Rachel's lip gently. "You just surprised me."

The girls continue making love to one another, Quinn adding another finger when Rachel asks for more. Quinn feels her stomach coil but is determined to hold off until Rachel reaches her climax.

"I'm so close Quinn."

"Me too baby. Just relax and let go."

Upon hearing these words in Quinn's husky voice, Rachel feels her orgasm wash over her, her whole body shaking in pleasure. Quinn soon follows and they lay in each other's arms for the remainder of the evening and most of the night.

* * *

"How do you feel about coming out?"

"I'm not sure I'm ready yet Rach."

They were still lying on Rachel's bed, curled up with each other when the brunette asked the question.

"What about just the glee club? They'd keep it a secret if we asked them to."

"Okay yeah that sounds reasonable, will be like a tester of what it'll be like too." Quinn agrees.

"Great, I know exactly how to do it." Rachel smirks.

"You're going to make me sing aren't you?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, during the song, Rachel's parts are in italics, Quinn's parts in bold, joint bits in bold and italics.
> 
> I don't know much about Hanukkah and if it comes before/during/after Christmas so forgive any mistakes and I mainly wrote about Christmas even though Rachel is Jewish but I did say earlier in the story that LeRoy was Catholic so it does make sense for them to celebrate Christmas too.
> 
> This chapter is short as I wrote it the week that Naya passed, but Santana will continue to be a part of this and my other stories, just like Finn and Puck are.
> 
> Read and review :)

The whole glee club was gathered in Rachel's basement, after much persuasion from the brunette. After everyone was settled, Rachel takes her place in the middle of the makeshift stage.

"So, I've asked you all here today as I have some news. To put it simply, I am in love."

The glee club starts all talking at once and Rachel scans the room. Finn is looking hopeful, as if he thinks she's about to confess her love for him, Santana and Kurt have a knowing smirk on their faces and Quinn was just staring back at her.

"We've kept this hidden because it was new but now we're in a more secure place and want to share this with you but you are the only ones, other than our parents, that know so we ask you to keep it quiet until we say so." Rachel continues. "So in true Rachel Berry fashion, we have prepared a song."

The diva notes the scowl on Finn's face, confused when she started talking about 'we' finally figuring out that she wasn't talking about him so shot a glare at Puck who looked as dubious as he felt.

Rachel pressed play on her karaoke machine, the song already queued up, and took a deep breath before starting to sing.

" _I found myself dreaming, in silver and gold,  
Like a scene from a movie that every broken heart knows.  
We were walking on moonlight, and you pulled me close,  
Split second and you disappeared and then I was all alone.  
I woke up in tears, with you by my side,  
A breath of relief, and I realised,  
No, we're not promised tomorrow._

" _So I'm gonna love you, like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna hold you, like I'm saying goodbye.  
Wherever we're standing, I won't take you for granted,  
Cause we'll never know when,  
When we'll run out of time.  
So I'm gonna love you,  
Like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna love you,  
Like I'm gonna lose you."_

The majority of the glee club was looking around the room, expecting the appearance of a guy they'd never met before so surprise was an understatement when Quinn stands up and continues the duet.

" **In the blink of an eye, just a whisper of smoke,  
You could lose everything, the** _ **truth is you never know.**_ **  
So I'll kiss you longer babe** _(hey),_ **any chance that I get,  
I'll make the most of the minutes and **_**love with no regret.**_ **  
Let's take our time to say what we want** _(say what we want),  
_ **Use what we got before it's all gone** _(all gone),  
_ **Cause no** _(no),_ _ **we're not promised tomorrow.**_

" _ **So I'm gonna love you, like I'm gonna lose you,  
I'm gonna hold you, like I'm saying goodbye.**_ _  
_ _ **Wherever we're standing,**_ _ **I won't take you for granted,**_ _  
_ _ **Cause we'll never know when,  
When we'll run out of time.  
**_ _So I'm gonna love you_ **(I'm gonna love you),** _  
Like I'm gonna lose you_ **(like I'm gonna lose you),  
** _I'm gonna love you_ **(ohh),** _ **  
**_ _Like I'm gonna_ _ **lose you, hey.**_

During the small music break, Rachel grabs Quinn hand, both needing the comfort as several pairs of eyes stare at them with confusion.

" _I'm gonna love you_ **(oh),  
** _Like I'm gonna lose you_ **(like I'm gonna lose you),  
** _I'm gonna_ _ **hold you,**_ _like I'm saying_ _ **goodbye.  
Wherever we're standing, I won't take you for granted,  
Cause we'll never know when,  
When we'll run out of time.  
**_ _So I'm gonna love you_ **(I'm gonna love you babe),** _  
Like I'm gonna lose you_ **(like I'm gonna lose you),  
** _I'm gonna love you_ **(ohh),** _ **  
**_ _Like I'm gonna_ _ **lose you."**_

As soon as they finish, Finn stands, kicks over his chair and walks out. Puck mumbles a congratulations before heading after his best friend to drive him home. Santana sits silently filing her nails as Brittany bounces excitedly beside her. Mercedes begins yelling at Kurt once she figures out he knew and Tina and Mike head over to the girls to hug them. Artie, Sam, Rory and Blaine still look shocked and Sugar isn't really sure what is happening. Rachel and Quinn were just happy.

* * *

Christmas day had finally arrived and Quinn woke up in Rachel's arms, having agreed with her mother to spend Christmas Eve and morning at the Berry's then come home in the evening to spend time with her then and on Boxing day, with Rachel in tow of course.

"Merry Christmas beautiful." Rachel smiles, waking up shortly after Quinn.

"Thanks baby." Quinn replies kissing her softly. "Is it… do I say it back?"

Quinn had been learning about Hanukkah and had been with Rachel every night they lit the Menorah but was still unsure about what to say around Rachel when it came to Christmas.

"You can if you want." Rachel chuckles. "I am technically only half Jewish and do celebrate both as you know."

"Well then, Merry Christmas my love."

"Hmm, I like that nickname."

"Me too." Quinn grins. "Can I give you your gift now?"

She'd given Rachel small gifts every night of Hanukkah but had saved the best gift for today.

"No, first we need to have Christmas breakfast with my dads, then we do gifts."

"Do you ever not follow a schedule?"

"Quinn, who are you talking to here?"

"Point taken."

After a delicious pancake breakfast – with vegan batter as it was easier than making two batches but Quinn and LeRoy got to have bacon with theirs, the four of them gather in the living room to exchange presents.

LeRoy and Hiram bought their daughter a new speaker for the basement and Quinn received three photo frames one with a picture of her and Rachel, another of her and Beth and the last of her, Rachel, Puck and Beth.

"Thank you, I love them." Quinn gushes.

Quinn had bought the Berry men a voucher for Breadstix whilst Rachel had given them a weekend away in Columbus.

Finally, Quinn handed her gift to Rachel, who opened it to find a silver chain with a gold star pendant engraved with the letters Q and R.

"Quinn… it's beautiful. Thank you." Rachel grins, giving Quinn a quick kiss before handing the blonde her present.

Quinn ripped away the wrapping paper to reveal a brand new laptop.

"Rach…"

"No don't even think about complaining, I know your old one broke and you were saving up for a new one so I thought I'd help you out and you can spend that money you saved on your girlfriend." Rachel interrupts.

"It's too much." The blonde says with tears in her eyes.

"No it's not, I love you and nothing will ever be too much."

Quinn pulls the brunette in for a kiss forgetting that her fathers were in the room until Hiram clears his throat.

The four of them spend the rest of their time together playing board games before the girls head over to Quinn's house for the rest of the holiday, revelling in the fact they get to spend this time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song – Like I'm gonna lose you by Meghan Trainor and John Legend. I took out all of Meghan's adlibs that she does over the top as this would be impossible to sing live.


	19. Chapter 19

As soon as Mr Schuester writes the words 'Marry Me?' on the whiteboard, the whole glee club jumps up cheering and Quinn gets an idea. It's ridiculous and risky but worth it. In fact, looking at Rachel across the room she knew it'd be more than worth it.

As if she knew she was being watched, Rachel turns her head to meet Quinn's gaze and they share a grin.

"Stop eye fucking Berry Q, I need to talk to you."

Santana pulls Quinn out the room.

"So I know things started out rocky for us this year but considering I helped you get Berry I think we're back on track right?" The Latina starts, waiting for Quinn to nod. "Well then, whatever you're planning, I want in."

"What?"

"Please, I saw you staring at your girl as soon as Mr Schue announced the assignment, I know you're going to do something sappy and romantic and Britt deserves something too. So long as you don't plan on proposing."

"Alright, you can join me. But no, I'm not proposing, it's way too early for that and no one is stupid enough to propose in high school. It's risky though."

"Risky how?"

"Well it's Rachel Berry, what if she doesn't like it?"

"Q, she's head over heels for you, she's going to love it."

"I guess you're right, meet me after school, my mom is away all week on a Christian singles cruise."

"Sure thing."

* * *

The next day, Quinn and Santana prepare to set the first stage of their plan in action. They talk to Mr Schue at the start of the day so he's aware of their plan for glee and luckily he agrees.

Soon, it's time for glee and everyone files into the choir room sitting in their usual seats. Quinn and Santana make sure they're the last two to enter, standing in the middle of the room smiling at Rachel and Brittany having a conversation in the front row.

Quinn clears her throat, gaining the attention of everyone in the room but her eyes stay fixed on her girlfriend. "So this is partially for the assignment as it's a great song and would totally work for you Mr Schue…"

"But it's also for our girls, who deserve to have every song we sing dedicated to them, just like this one it." Santana continues, her eyes linked with bright blue ones.

As the intro to the song starts being played by the band, Rachel and Brittany share a lovesick grin, but the brunette's attention is soon redirected back to the front of the room as Quinn starts singing.

" _There goes my heart beating,  
Cause you are the reason,  
I'm losing my sleep,  
Please come back now."_

Brittany's eyes light up as Santana takes over.

" **There goes my mind racing,  
And you are the reason,  
That I'm still breathing,  
I'm hopeless now.**

" _I'd climb every mountain,  
And swim every ocean.  
_**Just to be with you,  
And fix what I've broken.  
**_Oh, cause_ _ **I need you to see,  
**__That you are the reason._

" **There goes my hands shaking,  
And you are the reason,  
My heart keeps bleeding,  
I need you now, oh.**

" _If I could turn back the clock,  
__**I'd make sure the light defeated the dark,  
I'd spend every hour, **__of every day,_ **(oh),  
**_Keeping you safe_ **(oh).**

" _ **I'd climb every mountain,  
And swim every ocean.  
Just to be with you,  
And fix what I've broken.  
**__Oh,_ _ **cause**_ _ **I need you to see,  
**__That you are the reason._

" _I don't wanna fight no more,  
I don't wanna hide no more, _**(you are),  
**_I don't wanna cry no more come back,  
I need you to hold me, _**(that you are the reason),  
**_A little closer now, just a little closer now,  
Come a little closer, I need you to hold me tonight."_

The girls move forward and kneel before their girlfriends. Santana rests her hands in Brittany's lap, whilst Quinn reaches up to wipe the tears off Rachel's cheeks.

" _I'd climb every mountain,_ **(mmm),** _  
_**And swim every ocean.  
**_**Just to be with you,  
And fix what I've broken.  
Cause I need you to see,  
That you are the reason."**_

The four girls stand up and the two couples embrace and share kisses.

"I love you." Rachel whispers in Quinn's ear.

"I love you too."

* * *

After school, Quinn drives Rachel, Santana and Brittany back to her house. She and Santana then seat the others on Quinn's couch and head into the kitchen for phase two of their plan.

Half an hour later, they were all sat in the lounge watching a film, Quinn and Rachel on the couch with Santana and Brittany on the loveseat.

"I love days like this." Rachel mutters to Quinn.

"Me too, I'm so glad my mom is away all week and you convinced your dads to let you stay here for a few nights so I wasn't alone."

"It took some persuading, they initially just wanted you to stay at ours but I said you had chores and things to do so it was easier for us to just stay here."

"And you're top of my 'things to do' list."

"Quinn!" Rachel gasps slapping her on the arm.

"Oh come on Rach, there's no way you didn't lie to your dads for that specific reason."

"You realise my daddy was home when we did it last time right? So why would it phase me where we did it." The brunette winks.

"True, I'm still shocked by that by the way but there was no way I was going to stop you and who wouldn't take advantage of a soundproof room?" Quinn laughs.

Once the film was finished, Quinn and Santana disappeared into the kitchen again leaving Rachel and Brittany to wonder what they were up to. They didn't have to wait long as their girlfriend's soon came back into the lounge, leading them into the dining room.

Quinn then lit the candles on the table whilst Santana collected all the food they'd prepared and placed the dishes in the middle of the table.

"Berry, this is the vegan one so don't go touching the others otherwise Q here will probably find a way to blame me."

"True." Rachel heard Quinn mutter.

"Thank you Santana." The singer smiles. "Thank you too Quinn." She adds once she catches the blonde's pout.

Santana and Quinn take the seats opposite their girls and serve up the food.

"This is delicious, when did you find time to do this?" Rachel asks.

"Yesterday after school, then we did the finishing touches and cooked it all today." Quinn explains.

The two girls had made a vegan lasagne as well as spaghetti Bolognese and a carbonara with extra bacon.

"I didn't know you could cook like this."

"Actually it was mainly Santana." Quinn blushes.

"Damn straight. Britt you okay? You've been quiet all afternoon."

"Yeah, I'm just wondering what you're trying to make up for."

"What do you mean?" The Latina asks.

"Well the last time you did something this nice is because you slept with Puck again and felt bad about it and that was almost 2 years ago."

"Okay you have a point and that's exactly why I did this. You're amazing Brittany and I'm lucky enough to call you my girlfriend, you deserve the world and I've been slacking so when I found out Q was planning a romantic evening I wanted in." Santana explains, taking the dancer's hand across the table.

"I love you San, you're a perfect girlfriend just the way you are, I don't need all of this."

"You may not need it, but you deserve it."

* * *

Rachel was now lying in Quinn's bed, wrapped in the blonde's arms.

"Thank you for today baby, I loved it."

"You're welcome, but it's not over yet."

Santana and Brittany had gone home about half an hour ago and the girls had been cuddling in Quinn's room since then.

Rachel looks up and sees Quinn smiling down at her.

"Getting started on that list?" The brunette teases.

"You could say that."

Quinn repositions them so she's hovering above Rachel before lowering her head to kiss the singer.

Before either of them register it, they're both naked, Quinn perched above her girlfriend once again.

The blonde begins kissing Rachel's neck, sucking on the pulse point.

"Don't leave a mark baby."

Quinn growls but moves to the other side of her neck. Next she kisses down Rachel's collar bone and between her breasts before taking one into her mouth and gently biting on the nipple. She then moves lower, peppering kisses all over the girl's toned stomach until finally reaching her destination.

Quinn could smell Rachel's arousal and the sight alone was making her wetter than she already was.

Hesitantly she moves forward and runs her tongue through the brunette's slick folds, moaning at the taste whilst Rachel's back arches off the bed at the sensation.

As Quinn begins flicking at Rachel's clit with her tongue she lifts her body slightly to reposition her arm allowing her to slide two fingers into Rachel.

With the combined feeling of Quinn's mouth and fingers, Rachel feels herself nearing the edge and reaches down to grab onto the blonde locks between her legs.

As she screams through her orgasm she feels Quinn chuckle from between her legs.

Once she's brought Rachel down from her high, Quinn moves back up to lie next to her.

"Good job we're at mine because I'm pretty sure that scream would've penetrated the soundproofing." Quinn teases.

"Oh yeah?" Rachel responds once she's regained her breath. "Bet I can make you scream louder."

"Game on beautiful."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: You are the reason - duet version by Calum Scott and Leona Lewis.


	20. Chapter 20

Quinn takes a deep breath as she holds the envelope in her hands.

_This is it._ She thinks. _Make or break._

As she opens the letter, a huge grin spreads across her face and she instantly rushes out of her house and into her car.

Ten minutes later she knocks on a large wooden door.

"I GOT IN!" She yells as soon as the door opens, jumping into the arms of the person on the other side of the door. "I got accepted into Yale!"

"Oh my God, Quinn! That's incredible!" Rachel squeals, grinning alongside her girlfriend. "I'm so proud of you."

The brunette rocks up onto her toes to kiss Quinn deeply.

"We're going to be about an hour apart but we'll survive it right?" Rachel asks, after pulling away.

"Right." Quinn smiles, internally panicking. But she can't tell her, she can't shatter her dreams. Not now, not until it's definite.

Quinn had applied to other schools without telling Rachel, and it was likely she'd get in when they find out about her early acceptance to Yale. One of them she was really excited about but it was so far away and she wasn't sure what to do. So she was just going to ignore it until she heard whether she'd got in or not. No point stressing if she then didn't get accepted.

Then again, she was lying to Rachel and she hated doing that, or was it really lying? Just covering the truth?

* * *

Quinn spends the next few days walking on eggshells around her girlfriend. Rachel still hadn't heard from NYADA and was stressing over it, especially after Kurt receives his letter.

That afternoon she'd spoken to Kurt, she spent the evening wrapped in Quinn's arms crying, thinking her life was over as she hadn't been accepted.

While she held the brunette, Quinn was overthinking, wondering if this would work out better for their relationship, if she heard back from the other colleges, maybe Rachel could come with her. Though she didn't want Rachel to just follow her through life.

The Berry men sensed the tension and stayed well away.

* * *

Finally, Rachel runs up to Quinn at her locker, holding an envelope.

"Is that?" She asks.

"I'm a finalist!" Rachel practically screams, launching herself at Quinn, forgetting they were still at school and kissing her girlfriend in celebration.

They pull apart as soon as they hear the gasps.

"Oops." The diva whispers, turning to see the colour drain from Quinn's face. "Quinn…"

The blonde snaps out of her daze. "You know what? It's fine, I have been waiting for weeks to be able to kiss you in the hallways and now I can, our parents know, our friends know, it was the next step."

Quinn pulls Rachel in for another kiss which the brunette returns greedily until they're both drenched in sticky, cold liquid.

"Well that was inevitable." Quinn mutters, wiping the slushie out of her eyes before checking Rachel was okay.

The two girls make their way to the bathroom and help each other clean off and Rachel is glad that for once she wasn't alone after a slushie attack.

* * *

When Mr Schue announces his plan for this week's lesson, Quinn groans, she's never been very good at Spanish and having to sing songs in the language seems like hell to the blonde, not believing that it would help her learn how to speak it. Quinn wasn't stupid, she knew this was Mr Schue being insecure over his teaching position, ever since he'd got that complaint he more or less went into overdrive, pushing the students to learn the language that he's failed to teach them over the past few years.

Glancing to her left, Quinn sees Santana looking bored, filing her nails. Now this wasn't uncommon but somehow the blonde deduced that it was Santana who complained. The Latina didn't show it often but she did care about her education, and even though she was more or less fluent in Spanish anyway she felt bad for people like Brittany who may need the language in the future and wasn't getting taught efficiently.

Almost all the glee girls, along with Kurt, perk up when David Martinez walks into the room. Quinn keeps one eye on Rachel when she makes a comment about the guy's smile, alongside Kurt and Sugar.

Santana and Quinn share a look as they notice Rachel and Brittany are unable to tear their eyes away from the guest. As the music to 'Sexy and I Know It' starts up, they nod at each other before each pulling their girls up to dance.

Rachel crosses her hands behind Quinn's neck as Quinn possessively places her hands on the brunette's waist.

"Jealousy is a hot look on you." She whispers in the taller girl's ear.

"I'm not…"

"I belong to you Quinn."

The blonde can't stop the grin from spreading across her face before leaning down to capture Rachel's lips in a soft kiss.

Suddenly she feels a hard shove against her shoulder.

"Enough with the PDA Quinn." Finn yells once he's got her attention.

"Oh yet it was okay for you to kiss her in front of thousands at Nationals last year?" She fires back, the song coming to a stop around them.

"That was different."

"How?"

Quinn tries to make her way towards the boy but Rachel's hand round her wrist stops her. Glancing over her shoulder she sees the fear in the diva's eyes so Quinn forces herself to calm down slightly but she wasn't about to stop defending her relationship.

"She loves me." Finn argues.

"No, she may have _loved_ you but she loves me now, you need to grow up and accept that. This relationship has had enough drama."

"That's not true, tell her Rachel, tell her you're just playing with her to make me jealous, you love a little jealousy."

Both Finn and Quinn turn to Rachel expectantly.

"It's true." She admits with a weak voice, Quinns waits with bated breath to find out which of them she was talking to. "I love Quinn. Please just accept that Finn."

Finn storms out, kicking over a chair in his trademark fashion on the way, while Quinn releases her breath.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asks as Rachel collapses into her arms.

"Yes, just take me home Quinn."

* * *

Rachel spends another evening wrapped in Quinn's arms. It's her favourite place to be - second favourite is between Quinn's legs, closely followed by having Quinn between her legs.

"So…" She starts, shifting slightly to look into those hazel eyes. "It's Valentine's day next week and my dads are finally using that voucher I got them for Christmas so I'm going to be home alone… want to stay over?"

"Is that even a question?" Quinn giggles. "Rach you know I'd love to."

"Great, and by the way since you surprised me with a romantic evening a couple of weeks ago, it's my turn to woo you so don't go planning anything."

"Can I at least buy you a present?"

"Of course, what kind of girlfriend would you be if you didn't buy me something nice for Valentine's?" The brunette teases.

"Gotcha. Though this is the first Valentine's day I've actually looked forward to."

"Same, I love how everything feels different with you."

"Good different I hope?"

"Hmm, great different. I've been waiting my whole life to feel like this."

"Feel like what?" Quinn prompts.

"Like I'm finally one hundred percent happy."


	21. Chapter 21

Finally it was Valentine's day. Well it was actually Saturday the 12th but close enough. Damn school getting in the way of her romantic plans.

Rachel wouldn't admit this to anyone but she'd been planning this day ever since she was little. Most girls dream of their wedding, Rachel dreamt of her first official Valentine's, as well as her wedding. She and Finn had never officially been together at this time of the year so she'd been single for all 16 of her previous Valentine's days.

She wanted to make this the most special day of not only her life, but Quinn's too. Well best day so far, she hopes for future days that will top this day. Their engagement, their wedding day and the birth of their children to name a few.

"Rachel! We're going!"

As soon as she hears her father's voice she squeals with excitement, she would be picking Quinn up soon and their day could finally begin. It was only 10am but Rachel had been up since 6 so had been waiting for hours for this moment.

She quickly pulled out her phone as she descended the stairs to say goodbye to her dads.

**R - I'll be there in a few ;)**

She sent this text to Quinn and jumped off the last step.

"Goodbye dad, daddy." Rachel smiles, kissing the cheek each of her fathers in turn.

"Goodbye Sweetie, we'll see you tomorrow evening, behave with your friends." Hiram said.

To avoid telling her dads that Quinn was staying the night and that they'd be alone, she told a little white lie saying that all the girls from glee were staying over. Quinn had said the same to her mother.

Immediately after watching her daddy's car pull away, Rachel grabs her coat and jumps in her own car, making her way over to her girlfriend's.

Once there, she practically runs up the driveway to knock on the door which is soon opened to reveal Quinn, standing framed by the doorway, the sun hitting her just right. It takes Rachel's breath away.

"I believe the word you're looking for is hello." Quinn teases.

"I… yeah… hi."

"Hmm, _the_ Rachel Berry is rendered speechless? It's just me."

"You…" Rachel shakes her head, getting her thoughts straight. "It's you, in a stunning dress. In February might I add."

"Ah there's the voice I know and love. Yeah it may be winter but gotta keep you interested somehow." The blonde winks. "Plus I'm used to the cold, living here with my dad."

"Quinn…" Rachel starts, sympathy lacing her tone.

"Don't. I meant it literally, he would never turn the heating on."

"Oh."

"Shall we get going?"

"Yes of course. Do you have everything packed?"

"Yep." Quinn grins, holding up her backpack of overnight things. "I can't wait to spend the weekend alone with you."

The blonde steps out of her house, shouting bye to her mom over her shoulder before closing the door and pulling Rachel in for a kiss.

Firstly, the girls go back to Rachel's house to drop off Quinn's stuff, before getting back in the car. Rachel drives them to a small carnival in a nearby park. There's only a couple of stalls with games or food, a maze and pony rides for kids but it was still a fun time.

They start by playing a few of the games, with Quinn winning a toy unicorn, which she said she'd give to Brittany, and a pink bear which she gifted to Rachel. Next they decided to try out the maze. At the first junction, Quinn went to go left while Rachel went right, meaning they were pulled back together by their combined hands.

"Rach we need to go left, always make left turns."

"Quinn come on, I can just tell we need to go right here."

"Alright then, I'll meet you at the exit." The blonde winks before turning down the left fork.

Rachel hesitates briefly, not wanting to be alone but wanting to prove Quinn wrong so she took off down the right hand path.

Not long after, Rachel came to a dead end.

"Damn it." She whispers before turning around.

Five minutes later, the brunette finally finds the exit and comes face to face with a smug looking blonde.

"Shut up." She mumbles.

"I didn't say anything." Quinn points out.

"Yeah, but just… shut up."

Quinn giggles but then regrets it as Rachel starts towards her.

The blonde squeals and starts running away from the girl who was now chasing her. They end up in a heap on the grass, laughing.

By now it was gone midday so they venture towards one of the food stands. Quinn buys a hotdog and Rachel gets a veggie burger, after being assured that all the ingredients were vegan.

* * *

After spending a couple more hours at the carnival, the girls head back to Rachel's house to watch a film before Rachel is dragging Quinn out again.

This time, they end up at BreadStix. Rachel knew Quinn loves the restaurant so chose it especially. Then again, who doesn't love BreadStix? They provided unlimited breadsticks after all.

As the two slide into a booth they smile awkwardly at each other across the table. Sure they'd been on dates before, one in a very similar establishment but this felt different. It was for a special occasion. It was a day in which you were meant to go on a date, or well, the weekend closest to that day.

Rachel blushes and looks down at the menu, even though she knew what she was going to order. She looks up again when she hears a voice she wasn't expecting to hear today.

"Shove over Q."

Santana is standing at the edge of Quinn's side of the booth. Rachel makes eye contact with the blonde before lifting her head once more to spot Brittany grinning down at her. The two girls reluctantly move over to allow the couple into the booth.

"Look we didn't really want company on this date and I'm sure you didn't either but in case you haven't noticed this place is packed and I needs me some BreadStix." The Latina explains, it was the closest to an apology anyone would ever get, unless that person was Britt.

Rachel looks around and notices that Santana was right, every table was occupied, she must've been in a Quinn-induced haze when walking in but she'd at least had the sense to make a reservation.

"What have you been up to?" Brittany asks.

"Well we went to the carnival in the park earlier and then watched a film this afternoon." Quinn explains.

"San can we go to the carnival?!"

"Great thanks Q." Santana mutters. "Of course we can Britt."

"Oh by the way, if either of Rachel's dads ask, you stayed at theirs tonight." Quinn adds.

"Sure thing. I mean we could always just stay over if you don't want to lie?" The Latina teases, knowing they'd want to be alone but wanting them to say it.

"Um, no that's okay thank you Santana." Rachel replies awkwardly.

"Honestly, it would be no trouble."

Quinn, who had caught on to what her best friend was doing, stayed silent.

"I understand that but we um, have plans."

"What kind of plans?"

Rachel helplessly glances at Quinn who was looking down at the table trying not to laugh.

"Well… we…"

"For God's sake, we're going to have sex okay?" Quinn suddenly blurts out, just wanting to end Rachel's suffering.

Santana turned her head to gawp at the blonde, not expecting her to actually say it.

"At least, I assume that's what Rach had planned."

"Er, yeah. Let's just order now." Rachel blushes, calling over a waiter.

* * *

After dinner, throughout which Santana made countless crude comments, Quinn and Rachel go back home, well, Rachel's home, Quinn's second home.

Rachel pulls Quinn into the lounge by her collar.

"I thought you wanted to…" Quinn starts, trailing off when she sees the lust in her girlfriend's eyes.

"I do."

"In here?"

Quinn gasps as Rachel pushes her onto the couch before straddling her stomach.

"Yep. My dads never sit on this couch and it's always been one of my fantasies. To never be able to look at a piece of furniture again without thinking about you, and what you're about to do to me."

"What am I about to do to you?" The blonde smirks.

Rachel returns the smirk before leaning down to whisper in Quinn's ear, even though they were alone. "I want you to _fuck_ me."

The way Rachel said it sent shivers down Quinn's spine.

"Really?"

"Yes, we've made love countless times and as much as I enjoy it, I'm in the mood for something a little… hotter."

Quinn gulps, like actually audibly gulps and it causes Rachel to whiten.

"I mean, if you don't want to that's fine I just…"

The brunette's upcoming rant is cut short when Quinn sits up and uses the momentum to throw Rachel down onto the other side of the couch and climbs on top of her.

"Take your clothes off." She demands, hovering above Rachel but not moving off her completely.

The singer quickly removes all her clothing, struggling slightly with a girl above her but still managing it within record time.

Quinn instantly leans down to begin biting and sucking on Rachel's neck whilst manoeuvring her hand between their bodies to start rubbing on the brunette's clit. Once she's sure her girlfriend is wet enough she slips her fingers down lower and pushes two inside her.

Rachel whines at the feeling, despite having felt it before it somehow felt different, good different, because she knew what was about to happen.

"Quinn…" She whispers when the blonde had yet to move.

"Say it again."

"What? 'Quinn'?"

"No, what you want me to do."

A mischievous glint appears in Rachel's brown eyes. "Fuck me Quinn."

Quinn grins and leans back down to pepper Rachel's body with kisses and the occasional bite. Suddenly she starts moving her hand, pulsing her fingers in and out of the girl below her at a lightning speed. Soon the angle became too awkward so she sat upright again, perching on Rachel's left thigh, straddling it just above the knee, her arm muscles were already burning but she could tell by the look on the brunette's face that she was close so kept going at an ungodly pace.

Shortly after, Quinn feels Rachel's walls twitching around her fingers so swiftly pushes her thumb up against the girl's clit, sending her over the edge. Quinn just watched Rachel's face contort with pleasure, her body twitching. It was her favourite sight, especially with the knowledge that she did that to her girlfriend.

"I love you." The blonde blurts out suddenly.

"I… love… you… too." Rachel pants.

"I will never tire of hearing you say that."

Once Rachel has caught her breath, she sits up and pushes Quinn onto her back once more. She makes quick work of removing the girl's clothing and almost instantly attaches her mouth to Quinn's clit.

The blonde gasps in pleasure, wrapping her fingers in brown locks.

"I could do this all day." Rachel admits, pulling away briefly before lowering her head again.

"You wouldn't hear me complaining."

Rachel has perfected the art of making Quinn orgasm, she knows when to use teasing long licks along her core and when to make quick flicks against her clit with her tongue. One thing she hadn't done before was insert her tongue, deep into her girlfriend, so without even asking Quinn, she did this now.

They both moan at the sensation.

Rachel lifts her hand to rub circles on Quinn's clit and it's not long until the girl is shaking and moaning as wave after wave of pleasure ripples through her body.

"Okay, that was amazing." Quinn admits, five minutes later as they lie naked on the couch.

"It really was, you have no idea how long I've been wanting that."

"What? Me to fuck you or having your tongue inside me?"

Rachel chuckles. "Both."


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm now caught up with what I have posted on FanFiction. Chapter 23 will be uploaded on ff.net tomorrow and on here Tuesday and I'll update it weekly from then on (except the 25th as I'm on holiday)  
> If you have Facebook you should join my friend's Faberry page. It's called 'Faberry Fans' with a blue heart emoji at the end.  
> So this is kinda based on the On My Way episode but there's no crash because not only is there no wedding for Quinn to go to but also I don't know enough about the subject to write about it.  
> Read and review :)

Rachel woke up in pure bliss, glancing over at the naked Goddess next to her. Sure she'd woken up beside Quinn countless times but never were they naked. Even if they wanted to nap just after sex they'd always pulled some clothes on just in case their parents walked in.

She was suddenly overcome with desire so began trailing kisses down Quinn's pale skin, making the girl slowly rouse.

"Baby…"

That was the first and only word out of Quinn's mouth, her question lost in her throat as Rachel begins running her tongue over her rapidly dampening core. The only sounds she made after that were moans of pleasure or whispers of 'more', 'yes' and 'Rachel'.

* * *

Once Rachel was in the shower Quinn pulled on her clothes and jogged downstairs, she was going to get into trouble for doing this but she didn't care.

Ten minutes later, Rachel emerged from her ensuite to find her bedroom empty, she frowns before hearing a noise from downstairs, hoping it was Quinn.

Slowly she descended the stairs and made her way towards the kitchen to find Quinn standing at the stove.

"Quinn…" She whines, getting the blonde's attention. "I was supposed to be the one doing all the romantic things this weekend."

Quinn laughs lightly at the pout on the brunette's face. "I know, but I wanted to make you breakfast and you said I could still give you a gift so this is part of that gift."

Still, Rachel pouted so Quinn crossed the room in three long strides and pulled her girlfriend into a kiss. It was just a light connection but it was enough to lift Rachel's mood.

"So does that mean I get my present now?"

"Hmm, I don't know, it's not technically Valentine's day till tomorrow…"

"Yes but we're going to be busy preparing for Regionals most of the day, or did you forget we have that upcoming competition."

"Of course I didn't, how could I with your daily emails to the glee club?"

"They're extremely important emails Quinn!"

To avoid the inevitable rant she was about to receive, the blonde pulls a small cube box from her pocket, holding it out to Rachel.

"What's this?"

"Really Rachel? It's your present."

Rachel lifts the lid to the box to reveal a pair of sparkling silver earrings in the shape of musical notes.

"Quinn they're beautiful, thank you." She grins, putting them in now. "I won't wear them as often as the necklace and will save them for special occasions."

"Then why are you wearing them now?" Quinn teases.

"Today is special, it's not only our first Valentine's but it's our first weekend alone and I feel like it went quite well."

"I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Rachel was on a high. They'd just won Regionals and she wanted to celebrate with her girlfriend but Quinn was nowhere in sight.

It had been a tough week, with the knowledge of Karofsky and what he did but they used that emotion to win the competition, dedicating their performance to him, along with the Warblers. Quinn and Rachel had visited Karofsky in the hospital and he was happy they were still together. They were happy he was still alive.

After searching backstage, Rachel moved out into the hallway to continue her search for Quinn.

"Hey."

She spin rounds, startled by the voice, but it wasn't the voice she wanted to hear.

"Hi Finn."

"I just wanted to ask something, it won't take long."

Rachel nods.

"That song…" He starts, referring to 'Here's to Us' that she'd been singing not long ago. "You were singing about Quinn, and only Quinn right?"

"Yes."

If Finn had said anything in response, Rachel didn't hear him. She was distracted by the vision in red and white at the end of the corridor. When Quinn had come to her earlier in the week mentioning that she wanted to re-join the Cheerios, Rachel had been sceptical at first but Quinn had convinced her that she just wanted to get back into cheerleading again, it had nothing to do with popularity and she wasn't going to turn back into HBIC Quinn.

Rachel had been thinking about it for days but now, seeing Quinn in that uniform, all coherent thoughts flew out of her mind. Sure she'd seen her wearing that before but it was like her eyes hadn't been open the last times. Now, now she truly saw the beauty. She saw why guys were constantly drooling over the girls in these uniforms. There had been a few times when she'd checked out a nearby cheerleader but this was Quinn. Her girlfriend. The love of her life.

Finn, who realised that Rachel was no longer paying attention, stops talking and turns to look over his shoulder, spotting Quinn standing near the corner, talking to Blaine and Kurt but with her eyes on Rachel, so the boy chuckles gently and walks away, finally letting go of Rachel. She was never his soulmate anyway, that much was clear now.

Rachel was still in a daze, she was vaguely aware of Finn walking away and Quinn turning away from the guys and wandering towards her, but she was only fully pulled out of her stupor when Quinn touched her forearm.

As soon as she was back in reality she grabs Quinn by the front of her uniform and pulls the blonde's mouth down to her own.

It was out of school hours but they still hadn't really made out like this in school before, especially not in the middle of the hallway. It was exhilarating

Everyone around them fades away, they were only aware of each other. Quinn pulls Rachel closer by her hips whilst Rachel moves her hand up to pull the blonde locks out of the ponytail before running her fingers through the silky hair. Quinn moans into her mouth when she opens her mouth to allow their tongues to meet.

They eventually pull apart, panting. Rachel lets her eyes wander over her girlfriend's outfit once more before looking back up to catch the smirk on Quinn's face.

"Like what you see?" The blonde teases.

"Take me home."

"With pleasure."


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember there won't be an update next Tuesday.  
> By the way, I haven't really looked into it as NYADA isn't a real place so I don't know where in NYC it is, but I'm basing the whole 'NYADA and Yale are about an hour apart' thing on the fact that Santana once said something along the lines of Quinn being an hour away from them and she never thought to call her.  
> Yes it's probably one of the shortest chapters yet but you know how much I like leaving you with a cliffhanger :D though it's a pretty small one this time.  
> Read and review :)

Three weeks.

That's all it took for things to start falling apart.

Just three weeks, 21 short days.

* * *

The first week started off fine, great even. They were still on a high from their Valentine's weekend a couple of weeks ago and winning Regionals last week. In their minds, they were unstoppable.

Rachel was in her element when Blaine's brother came to town and was overjoyed when he offered acting masterclasses. She of course, got the majority of compliments from him which caused her to walk around with a grin on her face for days.

Quinn however, despite wanting a future career in acting, wasn't concentrating. She was sure he was going on about pointing and didn't really see the point – if you excuse the pun – so tuned him out. Her mind wandered back to the envelope sat on her bedroom desk. The envelope that was about to change her life. She just wasn't sure if it was going to change for the better or not. She hadn't opened the letter yet, the words 'Stanford University' in the top right hand corner sent her into a panic. She still hadn't told Rachel she'd applied.

* * *

From that point on, Quinn started to pull away from Rachel, both girls sensed it but neither was willing to acknowledge it.

Quinn started skipping glee. She was barely there for any of the Disco week performances. She watched Santana's performance but that was it, and that was only because the Latina had forced her to be there. Still, she sat on the opposite side of the room to Rachel, the girls occasionally making awkward eye contact.

The blonde even persuaded Tina to switch seats with her in calculus.

Rachel didn't know what went wrong, or when it went wrong. One week they were happily in love, the next, Quinn started ignoring her texts, not answering her calls, barely even looking at her in school. The most difficult part, for Rachel, was that Quinn was parading around school in her Cheerios uniform and all the brunette wanted to do was jump her girlfriend, especially now they were out at school, but she couldn't. It was torture.

* * *

On the third week, Quinn finally gave in and opened the letter. A grin spread across her face, she'd gotten into Stanford, a school she wanted to go to even more than Yale, it's programs were just more appealing to the blonde.

Now came the hard part. Telling Rachel.

* * *

Then, it was Friday. Exactly 21 days since they'd won Regionals. Quinn and Rachel hadn't spent a single weekend together since the day after the competition, in fact they'd hardly been alone.

Rachel finally snapped. She'd had enough of Quinn ignoring her and not telling her why, though she was aware she couldn't tell her why if she was indeed ignoring her but still, it was annoying and it was going to end now.

She spots Quinn walking into a bathroom down the hall and swiftly follows.

The blonde is stood at the sinks, fixing her makeup.

"Quinn. I demand to know right now why you have been ignoring me. It hurts and I just want my girlfriend back."

Rachel watches as Quinn slowly lowers her hands and sighs.

"I'm sorry Rachel. I just needed to know what it was like."

"What are you talking about?"

"Being apart from you. I needed to see if I could do it, for next year when we were truly going to be apart."

"But you're only going to be an hour away. You know Yale isn't that far from NYADA and we'll see each other every weekend."

"I'm not going to Yale. I'm going to Stanford."

The brunette pauses, shocked. "What?! Since when?"

"Since a couple of days ago. I applied to a lot of schools Rach, not just Yale."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to look at me the way you're looking at me now."

"Well what did you expect disappointment to look like?" Rachel says bluntly, before turning on her heels and leaving.

* * *

Quinn leaves school that day feeling numb. She skips glee again, she was in no mood to sing a Whitney song right now. Plus the rehearsal was optional anyway.

As soon as she gets home she locks herself in her room and cries.

Three weeks.

That's all it took for her to lose the one good thing she ever had.

* * *

Things were definitely awkward throughout the next week. The girls avoid each other as much as possible and Quinn didn't attend any glee rehearsals. Neither of them really knew if they were broken up or not, but neither was strong enough to ask.

Quinn hears through Kurt that they have their NYADA auditions this week and the day of the audition she sends Rachel a good luck text which goes unanswered.

So she sneaks in to the auditorium to watch. Then, the unexpected happens, Rachel chokes. The blonde instantly panics, knowing that it's her fault. She should've been with Rachel this week, calming her nerves, distracting her and listening to her practise. She should be with her now, as the brunette breaks down backstage. From her viewpoint at the top of the stairs, Quinn can see Rachel curled up in Kurt's arms, sobbing. That should be her. She needed to fix this. She was determined to fix this. Rachel was the only reason she was happy, now, she was just numb all the time, crying herself to sleep most nights.

So that evening, Quinn began working on her plan to win Rachel back, to prove to her that no matter where in the country they end up, they will still have each other.

Little did she know, she wouldn't even be able to start stage one of her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See you in two weeks ;)


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the first song may be a bit confusing as sometimes they're singing together but with different lyrics so I recommend you listen to the song if you're confused. I usually put the title at the end to avoid spoilers but as it's right at the beginning and you may need to listen to it if you haven't heard it before it's Can I Have This Dance from High School Musical 3.
> 
> Read and review :)

Bright and early the next morning, Quinn walks with purpose down the halls of McKinley, twirling a single rose between her fingers. She'd asked Puck to text Rachel telling her to go to the choir room as she wasn't sure whether the brunette would turn up if she'd asked herself.

However, she soon realises her plan backfired when she reaches the choir room door and hears music from inside. She cracks the door open slightly and is greeted by the sound of Rachel's haunting voice flooding through the small gap.

" _Take my hand, take a breath,  
Pull me close and take one step.  
Keep your eyes locked on mine,  
And let the music be your guide."_

Just as Quinn is about to pull the door open further, she hears another voice join in.

" **(Won't you promise me)** _Now won't you promise me,  
That you'll never forget?  
_ **(We'll keep dancing)** _To keep dancing,  
_ _ **Wherever we go next."**_

Quinn grits her teeth as she hears Finn harmonising with her girlfriend.

" _ **It's like catching lightning,  
The changes of finding someone like you.  
It's one in a million,  
The chances of feelin' the way we do.  
And with every step together,  
We just keep on gettin' better.  
**_ _So can I have this dance?_ **(Can I have this dance?)  
** _ **Can I have this dance?**_

" **Take my hand, I'll take the lead,  
And every turn will be safe with me.  
Don't be afraid, afraid to fall,  
You know I'll catch you through it all.**

" **And you can't keep us apart,** _(Even a thousand miles, can't keep us apart)  
_ **'Cause my heart is,** _('Cause my heart is)  
_ _ **Wherever you are."**_

The blonde risks pulling the door open fully, unable to just listen anymore and catches sight of the two former lovers dancing a waltz around the room. As they spin, Quinn ducks back behind the door frame before she's spotted. As tears form in her eyes, she looks down at the rose still held between her fingers.

" _ **It's like catching lightning,  
The changes of finding someone like you.  
It's one in a million,  
The chances of feelin' the way we do.  
And with every step together,  
We just keep on gettin' better.  
**_ _So can I have this dance?_ **(Can I have this dance?)  
** _ **Can I have this dance?**_

" _Oh, no mountain's too high and no_ _ **ocean's too wide,**_ _  
_ _ **'Cause together or not, our dance won't stop.  
**_ _Let it rain,_ _ **let it pour,**_ _  
_ _ **What we have is worth fighting for.  
You know I believe, that we were meant to be.  
**_ _Oh…_

" _ **It's like catching lightning,  
The changes of finding someone like **_**you** _ **.  
**_ _(Like you)_ _ **  
It's one in a million,  
The chances of feelin' the way **_**we do** _ **.  
**_ _(Way we do)_ _ **  
And with every step together,  
We just keep on gettin' better.  
**_ _So can I have this dance?_ **(Can I have this dance?)  
** _ **Can I have this dance?  
**_ _Can I have_ _ **this dance?  
Can I have this dance?"**_

As the music fades out, all Quinn can hear is silence. Until that quiet is interrupted by an unmistakable sound. The blonde's heart stops.

_No…_ She thinks. _This can't be happening, just look into the room. They're not…_

As she peeks around the door frame all her worst nightmares come true as her eyes land upon Finn kissing Rachel. She drops the rose and runs down the hallway, the door slamming behind her in her haste.

Rachel struggles out of the kiss upon hearing the door slam and sees a single rose sitting just inside the room, instantly panicking.

"Finn…" She starts. "Did you ask Noah to text me to come here?"

"No? I was just walking passed and saw you in here." The boy explains. "Now I'm glad I did."

"I thought you were moving on."

"I was but it doesn't happen quickly, and you've just ruined my progress."

"What? You kissed me!"

"Yeah because you sung with me. It was a long shot when I asked you to show me how to waltz but when you agreed I thought you were suddenly seeing the light and realised that we belong together."

"No Finn, I'm with Quinn. I _love_ Quinn. I offered to help you so that maybe we could still be friends."

"But…"

Rachel doesn't allow Finn to finish his sentence as she rushes out of the room. She was still mad at Quinn but if the blonde was willing to apologise and fix this she was going to listen, Quinn was the best thing in her life and she didn't want to lose that.

On her way out of the room she picks up the rose and tries to think of where Quinn would go.

* * *

Eventually, Rachel finds Quinn sat on the auditorium stage.

"I should've known you'd be here."

Quinn startles at the sudden voice but doesn't respond.

"I looked all over the school but I should've known, I would've known if you'd just texted."

"I didn't know if you'd even want to meet me." The blonde mumbles, still facing away from Rachel.

"So that's why you got Noah to text me."

Quinn huffs a laugh. "Yeah that backfired on me didn't it."

"I would've come to meet you, I love you Quinn, I'm not ready to give up on us."

"Oh so that's why you were kissing Finn."

"Finn kissed me."

"So?!" Quinn yells, seeing red, standing and whirling round to face the brunette who takes a step back. "He's like a foot taller than you, you must've seen him coming."

"Okay yes I didn't stop him but I was mad at you Quinn, you lied to me, for months. You let me believe you were going to Yale when you had every intention of bailing when something better came along, you should've warned me."

"I couldn't handle it, you know that I lie, I can't help it. I just… I don't know, to me it was the best option. I didn't realise it would lead to this."

"Quinn what did you think would happen?! Did you learn nothing from lying to Finn about the baby?"

That turned out to be the wrong thing to say.

"You have no right! How can you bring that up?! What would you have done?!"

"I would've told the truth!" Rachel yells, getting fed up with Quinn's behaviour.

"It's easy to act all 'good girl' when you haven't been in that position. You don't know what it's like."

"You're right. I don't know what it's like. I just know that I don't lie when things get tough."

"Don't you get it Rachel? My parents totally fucked me over, for me it's easier to lie than to face my emotions. I don't want to leave you but I want to go to Stanford."

"Then you should've just told me that."

To Rachel, things seem to be calming down, but in Quinn's mind, she was still angry and when she was angry, she built up her walls and pushed people away.

"Don't act like you're all innocent in this, I may have lied but at least I didn't cheat."

It was all getting too much. For both of them. Quinn was on the verge of tears and Rachel had never been in a fight this intense before so she said the first thing that came to her mind, without considering the consequences.

"This time."

As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it.

"Quinn…"

"Get out."

"Wait, I…"

"Go away Rachel."

The brunette sighs. "I love you Quinn." She whispers, before leaving the stage, but she just stays hidden backstage, too emotional to wander the halls. It's there that she hears the music start.

Glancing through the curtains she sees that Quinn has connected her phone to the auditorium speakers and she's standing in the middle of the stage, preparing herself to sing. Rachel can't look away as Quinn's voice begins filling the room.

" _Seems like just yesterday,  
You were a part of me,  
I used to stand so tall, I used to be so strong.  
Your arms around me tight,  
Everything, it felt so right,  
Unbreakable, like nothing could go wrong._

" _Now I can't breathe,  
No, I can't sleep,  
I'm barely hangin' on._

" _Here I am, once again,  
I'm torn into pieces,  
Can't deny it, can't pretend,  
Just thought you were the one.  
Broken up, deep inside,  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry,  
Behind these hazel eyes._

" _I told you everything,  
Opened up and let you in,  
You made me feel alright for once in my life.  
Now all that's left of me,  
Is what I pretend to be,  
So together, but so broken up inside._

" _Cause I can't breathe,  
No, I can't sleep,  
I'm barely hangin' on._

" _Here I am, once again,  
I'm torn into pieces,  
Can't deny it, can't pretend,  
Just thought you were the one.  
Broken up, deep inside,  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry,  
Behind these hazel eyes._

" _Swallow me then spit me out,  
For hating you, I blame myself.  
Seeing you, it kills me now,  
No, I don't cry on the outside,  
Anymore,  
Anymore._

" _Here I am, once again,  
I'm torn into pieces.  
Can't deny it, can't pretend,  
Just thought you were the one.  
Broken up, deep inside,  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry,  
Behind these hazel eyes.  
Here I am, once again,  
I'm torn into pieces.  
Can't deny it, can't pretend,  
Just thought you were the one.  
Broken up, deep inside,  
But you won't get to see the tears I cry,  
Behind these hazel eyes."_

As Quinn finishes pouring her heart out in song, she turns and spots Rachel watching from behind the curtain.

"Please Quinn, we can fix this." Rachel begs.

"No."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson. (The first song was listed in the notes at the top of this chapter).
> 
> Now you'll probably be annoyed at the outcome of this chapter so I'm sorry that things have gotten worse before they get better. I've actually had this planned right from the start and have been winging it up till now haha.
> 
> Anyway, feel free to complain in the comments! See you all next Tuesday :)


	25. Chapter 25

_It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? … Wait, that's a song lyric. Damn I've spent too much time with Berry and her band of losers._

Getting frustrated with her own thoughts, Santana turned up the radio to drown out the Killers' song now stuck in her head. She was driving over to Quinn's house after receiving an SOS text from the blonde. She knew it had something to do with Rachel, and she also knew it was beyond bad if Quinn was reaching out to her of all people. Brittany was the usual person Quinn contacted with a dilemma but Santana? This had to be monumental.

And of course, with Rachel involved, it was.

She lets herself into the Fabray household, knowing Judy would be at work, and heads straight for Quinn's room.

Finding the blonde curled up on her bed sobbing, Santana panicked, she was not a good person to have around when someone was crying.

"Quinn?" She spoke, just to announce her arrival.

"She… she's going to prom… with Finn."

* * *

Weakness.

That's what it was.

That was what overcame her when she'd said yes. She didn't want to go to prom with Finn but he'd asked her in the middle of the courtyard it was so public she couldn't say no. Plus she didn't want to go to prom alone and Finn knew that, that's why he asked her.

In fact, Rachel was planning on skipping prom all together but she heard that Quinn was still going as she was up for prom queen and she didn't want to miss the opportunity of seeing Quinn win the crown, and it would give her more time to work things out with the blonde.

She didn't quite know how this fight flipped over so quickly, firstly she was mad at Quinn yet now she just wants to beg her for forgiveness. She wasn't sure if she'd overreacted over the fact that Quinn was suddenly moving across the country, she was blindsided and it caused her to bring out the diva. But would anyone else react the same way? Or was it just her and her dramatic tendencies? She knew she had to talk to someone but who? Kurt was a no as he was just as dramatic as she was. Mercedes was too headstrong, Tina too quiet. She didn't want to face Santana and knew that both Brittany and Sugar would be too confused by the complexity of the situation. That left her with all the boys, minus Kurt of course. Puck would be too crude, Finn would be biased, Rory and Joe she didn't know well enough. Sam? Okay Sam was a maybe, who else was there? Blaine? That was possible but difficult to talk to him without Kurt in tow. Mike had the same problem as Tina, both too shy to speak their minds. Artie? No, she'd never really had a conversation with him alone and it would be weird for this to be the first one. So Sam it was. Sure he was Quinn's ex but he was over her now and happy as ever with Mercedes so it wouldn't be too awkward. Plus he has been known to have moments of great wisdom.

So it was set, straight after glee club she'd talk to Sam and ask his opinion.

* * *

"Sam."

The boy turns as he hears Rachel call his name as he was exiting the choir room.

"May I pick your brain for a moment?"

"Uh, sure Rachel, what's up?"

Rachel waited until the choir room was empty then gently pulled Sam back inside.

"It's about an issue Quinn and I are having, can I trust you to be honest and unbiased?"

"Shouldn't you be talking to Quinn about this?" He asks, confused.

"Well yes that would be ideal but the problem is she isn't talking to me."

"Right, um, okay then I'll try my best to help."

The blond sat down in one of the seats on the risers as Rachel paces before him explaining everything, from Stanford to the kiss with Finn and their fight afterwards.

"So let me get this straight, Quinn kept a secret from you and you got mad so to get back at her you cheated? That seems a little extreme to me Rachel."

"Yes I'm aware of that now but before the whole Finn fiasco do you think I overreacted about Quinn keeping the news from me?"

"Maybe slightly though I would've been mad too in that situation, but she must've had her reasons for keeping it secret?"

"I'm not sure, I never gave her a chance to explain I just stormed out and when she tried to apologise, well I assume that's what the rose was for, she caught me with Finn and we had another fight in the auditorium when I said the worst thing I could ever say."

"What did you say?"

"Well she said something along the lines of she may have lied but at least she didn't cheat and I panicked and said 'this time'. I felt awful straight away but she didn't give me a chance to explain."

"Much like you didn't give her a chance to explain about Stanford." Sam points out. "Okay from what I learned about Quinn when we were dating is that pride is the most one of the important things to her, you hurt her pride, she's going to build her walls back up and push people away. What you need to do is give her time, don't crowd her by trying to apologise all the time. I'm sure you've already said you're sorry so just leave it at that for now, until she comes to you, which she will. You two love each other, that much is clear, so just remember, if you love something set it free, if it comes back, it was meant to be."

"But what if she doesn't come back?" Rachel asks, tears in her eyes.

"Then I'm sorry but it wasn't meant to be and eventually you'll be grateful for that, that you didn't force her to come back and waste more of your time, and hers. You'll meet someone else, someone who is the perfect fit for you and you'll grow up, thankful for Quinn's love but no longer upset that you lost it."

Rachel nods, too emotional to respond so Sam wraps her in a hug and she sobs into his chest until all the tears are gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never really written much dialogue for Sam before but hopefully it sounds enough like him.  
> Next chapter – Prom…  
> Read and review :)


	26. Chapter 26

A year ago, if you'd have asked Rachel what her dream prom would look like, this would be it. A beautiful dress, Finn on her arm and surrounded by her friends. But now, staring at herself in the mirror, she was dreading it, it was truly a nightmare. She was haunted by the smiling face of Quinn in the pictures dotted around her vanity. How could she go to prom with Finn when she was in love with someone else, someone better? It was eating her up inside.

Nevertheless, Rachel was an honourable person so had to see this commitment through. In her mind, all that this date entailed was arriving together, sharing one dance and maybe leaving together, or rather, at the same time, they were definitely not going back to the same place. Though Finn will probably be invited to after parties, none of which would extend the invitation to her so hopefully, her night would end early.

Sam's advice had flooded her brain the past couple of days, she needed to constantly remind herself that Quinn needed time to process. Some people may think that the blonde was being hypocritical not forgiving Rachel, having cheated herself - twice, but Rachel knew better. Quinn had said it herself, she cheated on those guys because she didn't love them. She loved Rachel, and Rachel loved her so everything was just several times more painful.

The girls had become slightly more civil around each other since the incident. They shared smiles whenever they passed one another in the corridors and even had a small conversation in glee club yesterday afternoon. It was progress and that was all that mattered to Rachel.

The doorbell ringing pulls Rachel from her thoughts.

"Rachel honey, you're date is here." Her dad shouts up the stairs.

Both her fathers had been silently disappointed when Rachel revealed that she was going to prom with the boy that had repeatedly broken her heart instead of the girl who currently held her heart.

"Okay I'll be down shortly." She responds.

Sighing, she stands up from her vanity and smooths down the cream material of her dress. Memories of picking this dress out with Quinn one afternoon last month sweep into her mind but she pushes them aside and walks out the door towards her nightmare.

* * *

"Q! Get your sweet ass out of the bathroom right now!"

Quinn steps out of her ensuite, straightening her long turquoise dress and is met by wolf whistles from both Santana and Brittany, but they stop as soon as they see the look on the blonde's face.

"What's wrong?" Brittany asks, wrapping Quinn in a hug.

"Why am I even still going to this stupid prom?" She sniffs.

"Because…" Santana starts, leading Quinn over to her vanity to do the girl's make up. "You're nominated for prom queen and it's mandatory. Plus it's senior prom, if you miss it you'll regret it for the rest of your life."

"I doubt it. At this rate the only thing I'll regret is lying to Rachel and pushing her back into the arms of Finn."

"You'll get her back."

"She clearly doesn't want me back."

"Come on Quinn, we all know that isn't true." Brittany adds, running a comb through Quinn's hair.

"Quinnie, the car's here!"

Their conversation was cut short by Judy shouting up the stairs.

Quinn takes a deep breath. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

Walking into the transformed gym, Rachel lost her breath, Brittany had really nailed this dinosaur theme and every single student was enjoying it, despite frowning when the student body president had initially announced the theme.

By the photo booth there was what could only be described as a giant rocking dinosaur that people were climbing all over to get their pictures taken by the photographer who had been hired for the evening. A box of props was placed between there and the photo booth itself and Rachel noticed Quinn tumbling out of the booth, laughing at the photos she had just taken with Santana.

Rachel notes that it's nice to see her happy but feels a tug in her stomach as she thinks that they should be happy together. It was then the Quinn looked up and their gazes connect.

Santana notices and drags Quinn over to where Rachel was stood near the entrance whilst Finn wandered off to get them drinks.

"Hi Quinn, you look beautiful, as usual." Rachel comments politely.

"Thank you. You look lovely too, gorgeous even." The blonde stumbles.

"Thanks." Rachel giggles.

Santana coughs subtly, or rather, not so subtly.

"You look incredible too Santana, and if you see Britt before I do please congratulate her on the success of this evening." The brunette adds.

"Will do Berry." The Latina comments before heading off to find her girlfriend.

"Oh I um… didn't mean now."

"I think she knows that." Quinn blushes.

"Right. So how have you been?"

"Alright, I guess. Just focussing on getting good grades and our setlist for Nationals."

"Oh yes, are you excited to go to Chicago?"

"Well I've been before on family holidays when I was little but I suppose it'll be different this time as I reckon I'll actually enjoy it."

The two girls had just relaxed into conversation when Finn reappeared.

"Here you go babe."

Rachel notices the wince on Quinn's face at the pet name.

"Thanks, but Finn I don't think it's appropriate for you to call me that, seeing as I told you that tonight was a one off event."

The blonde's expression lifted slightly upon hearing that but decided to leave them too it anyway.

"I better go campaign some more." She excuses. "I'll see you later Rach, maybe for a dance?"

"Yes, I'd like that." Rachel responds, ignoring the small growl from Finn.

* * *

"Well your count is the same as mine, you won prom queen, congrats blondie."

Quinn was confused, she thought she would feel ecstatic about winning but she just felt empty. So she turns to the Latina with a thoughtful glance.

"Don't you want to leave this place having made a difference?"

Santana shrugs. "I lost interest in being queen when Brittany didn't win king, how could she only receive four votes?"

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact she's a girl."

"Lady Hummel won prom queen last year."

"Yes but that was a joke, nobody wants to prank Britt, no matter how okay she appeared to be about being nominated." Quinn explains. "Anyway seeing as I won queen I get to decide what happens next right?"

"Right…" Santana responds, a little wary of her best friend's expression.

Ten minutes later Quinn was stood on the makeshift stage in front of the entire senior year next to Santana and the other prom court nominees.

Sensing Quinn's nervousness, Santana reaches out and takes the blonde's hand, earning a thankful smile in response.

Once Figgins announces that Finn has won prom king, Quinn's eyes search the crowd looking for Rachel, only to find the brunette's eyes already on her. They share a small smile as Finn is crowned and nerves flood through Quinn's body once more. This was it. Make or break.

"And now, your 2012 prom queen is… Miss Rachel Berry."

The whole room gasps collectively, everyone wondering who had voted for Rachel and why they had done so when in reality, Rachel had only received one vote but it seems like because that vote had been from the true prom queen, it held a lot more power.

Rachel slowly made her way to the stage, wondering if this was a prank like last year, or if she was going to get covered in pig's blood like in Carrie. But no, nothing out of the ordinary happens, except for one thing. Quinn wasn't meeting her gaze and she wondered just how much the blonde played a part in this.

After getting crowned, Rachel is lead onto the dance floor by Finn and her holds her in his arms as the music starts to play.

The brunette's head snaps up as soon as she hears Quinn's voice filling the gym.

" _Guess mine is not the first heart broken,  
My eyes are not the first to cry.  
I'm not the first to know,  
There's just no getting over you._

" _You know, I'm just a fool who's willing,  
To sit around and wait for you.  
But baby, can't you see,  
There's nothing else for me to do?  
I'm hopelessly devoted to you._

" _But now, there's nowhere to hide,  
Since you pushed my love aside,  
I'm out of my head,  
Hopelessly devoted to you,  
Hopelessly devoted to you,  
Hopelessly devoted to you."_

As Rachel is spun around in a dance by Finn, she can't take her eyes off the hazel ones staring right back at her from the stage.

" _My head is saying, 'Fool forget her',  
My heart is saying, 'Don't let go,  
Hold on to the end',  
That's what I intend to do,  
I'm hopelessly devoted to you._

" _But now, there's nowhere to hide,  
Since you pushed my love aside,  
I'm out of my head,  
Hopelessly devoted to you,  
Hopelessly devoted to you,  
Hopelessly devoted to you."_

All too soon the song has come to an end and Rachel is forced back to reality, to the feeling of being wrapped in strong, masculine arms. She pushes herself away from him and heads for the nearest exit, but in a flash of turquoise and blonde, her pathway is blocked.

"Dance with me?"

"Quinn…"

"Please, it's just one dance and then I'll let you go."

Rachel wasn't sure if Quinn meant she would just let her go home or let her go completely. Right now, she didn't want to know the answer.

She nods and allows Quinn to lead her back to the dancefloor, ignoring the calls from Finn. As the music starts up and Santana takes her place at the microphone, Rachel glances up at Quinn curiously.

"I didn't know she was going to sing this I swear."

Rachel nods once more and begins moving to the music as the Latina starts to sing.

" _Stand there like a ghost,  
Shaking from the rain, rain.  
She'll open up the door and say, 'Are you insane-ane?'  
Say it's been a long six months,  
And you were too afraid to tell her what you want, want._

" _And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl._

" _And then you say,  
I want you for worse or for better,  
I would wait forever and ever,  
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together,  
I would wait forever and ever.  
And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl.  
And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl._

" _Remind her how it used to be, be, yeah-yeah,  
With pictures in frames, of kisses on cheeks, cheeks.  
Tell her how you must have lost you mind, ooh-ooh,  
When you left her all alone,  
And never told her why, why._

" _And that's how it works,  
That's how you lost the girl._

" _And now you say,  
I want you for worse or for better,  
I would wait forever and ever,  
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together,  
I would wait forever and ever.  
And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl.  
Ohh… And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl.  
Yeah, yeah._

" _And you know,  
Oh, oh, oh…  
That I don't want you to go, oh-oh._

" _Remind me how it used to be,  
Pictures in frames, of kisses on cheeks,  
And say you want me, yeah-yeah,  
And then you say…"_

Quinn spins Rachel round so her back is pressed up against her front and leans down to whisper along to the lyrics in the brunette's ear as Brittany joins Santana on stage and sings the ad libbed sections.

" _ **I want you for worse or for better,**_ (worse or for better) _ **  
I would wait forever and ever,**_ (ever and ever) _ **  
Broke your heart, I'll put it back together,  
I would wait forever and ever. **_(I want you forever and ever…) _ **  
**_ _And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl. _(That's how it works) _  
And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl. _(Get the girl, that's how it works)  
 _And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl. _(Ohh…) _  
And that's how it works,  
That's how you get the girl, girl. _(Ohh…)

" _That's how it works,  
That's how you got the girl."_

As soon as the last note rings out Rachel spins back round and pulls Quinn into a kiss, smiling when she feels the girl pulls her closer with hands on her hips.

After a few glorious moments they pull apart.

"We really need to talk huh?" Quinn giggles nervously.

"Yeah." Rachel responds, breathless. "Later though."

* * *

The door crashes against the wall as Quinn pushes it open in her haste, her lips never leaving Rachel's until the sound pulls them out of their daze.

"Are you sure your mom isn't home?"

"Yes, she left soon after Santana, Brittany and I left for prom and is spending the weekend at her sister's." Quinn explains, pulling Rachel up the stairs.

"Isn't this kind of cliché?"

"What? Hooking up on prom night?"

"Yeah." Rachel forces out, ignoring the pang of hurt at the words 'hooking up'.

Quinn meanwhile was mentally kicking herself at the slip of the tongue. She wanted more than anything to admit this was more than just a hook up but when Rachel agreed, she couldn't, even if she was pretty sure that Rachel was hurt by the comment too.

"Well I guess it could be seen as cliché but I don't really care." The blonde adds after a few moments of silence.

Finally the girls break through the door into Quinn's room and Quinn instantly pushes Rachel onto the bed and climbs on top of her, kissing her deeply.

Rachel returns the kiss greedily, even if this was just for tonight she wanted to make the most of it.

They quickly undressed each other, the familiarity of the situation taking away all the nerves.

Quinn settles back on top of the brunette once they are both naked and resumes the kiss, trailing her hands all over the expanse of tan skin beneath her.

Once the need to breathe becomes too much the girls pull apart and Quinn begins trailing kisses down Rachel's neck causing the singer to release breathy moans.

Simultaneously, they both run their fingers down the other's body until they reach each other's core.

Hazel eyes met brown as they both slid inside, just like the first time. Their pants turn to moans which in turn change into screams of pleasure. Quinn's left hand trails down Rachel's right arm before linking their fingers together, to anchor them to each other and they both instantly knew this was more than a hook up, this was love.

"I'm… I'm so close." Rachel husks.

"Scream my name baby." Quinn responds, not even noticing the pet name.

"… QUINN!" The brunette screams as she climaxes, causing the blonde to fall over the edge along with her.

Quinn collapses onto Rachel, their hands still intertwined, their heavy breathing melting into one sound until they both fall into a light sleep, the blonde still laying atop the diva.

* * *

Rachel was the first to wake an hour later, Quinn had shifted slightly and was now lying next to her with her left arm still draped across her body, their hands still linked on Rachel's other side.

A smile graces the brunette's face before faltering slightly as her mind starts to wander.

Were their problems truly over?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs: Hopelessly Devoted to You from Grease (I changed the word 'him' to 'her' for obvious reasons but do not own the song) and How You Get The Girl by Taylor Swift – the parts in bold and italics is when Quinn is singing along, the bits in normal font are Brittany, hopefully it's not too confusing.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So something you might find funny, last week when I was reading through the chapter before I posted it I noticed I'd accidentally written that Finn won prom queen instead of king and was giggling because that's actually something hilarious that Quinn and Santana would do to get back at him but obviously it then didn't fit with the rest of the story so had to change it to king but maybe I'll use it in another story sometime.  
> Anyways, here's that talk that they've needed to have for like 4 chapters.  
> Read and review :)

Quinn woke up disoriented and confused, she didn't remember falling asleep. It's then that she realises she's naked and everything comes flooding back to her.

The next thing she notices is that she's alone and panic hits her. Did Rachel sneak out?

Her breathing quickens, but then she hears Rachel's soft voice from inside her ensuite.

"Yes Daddy… No Daddy… Okay, yes I'll tell Kurt you said hi… Okay, love you too… Bye."

Quinn loses her breath as soon as Rachel steps back into the bedroom wearing just her white lace bra and matching panties. She notices Rachel's eyes roaming over her own body and flushes a deep red. This colour is then reflected back at her on the brunette's cheeks as Rachel realises she's been caught staring.

"Everything okay?" Quinn asks, breaking the tension.

"Yeah, that was just my daddy checking in."

"You're going to see Kurt?"

"Oh, no, I just told him I was staying there tonight as it seemed the path of least resistance. I wasn't sure how he would react to the news that I was staying here."

"Have you told Kurt?"

"No, that's a good idea though I'll text him now."

As Rachel types out a quick message to Kurt, Quinn lets her eyes wander again, travelling the length of the brunette's petite body.

"Quinn."

Hazel eyes snap back up to Rachel's face.

"I think it's best if we put some more clothes on don't you think?"

"Yes, that's probably a good idea." Quinn agrees, standing and collecting some sweats for both her and Rachel. "Are you hungry?"

"What time is it?"

"Just gone 11."

"I'm a little hungry yeah."

"You had to know what time it was to decipher whether you were hungry?" The blonde teases.

"No." Rachel chuckles. "I was hungry regardless but if it was too late there wouldn't be much point eating and we could just go to sleep."

"You'd be able sleep even if you were hungry?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I'd just eaten so it was a sacrifice I was willing to take. Plus I sleep better in your arms anyway."

Neither girl really knows how to respond to that so they walk downstairs in an awkward silence. It had started to feel like the past month hadn't happened and they were still happily in love. Not that either of them had fallen out of love but it was just different now, and Rachel's unexpected comment had hit them both like a ton of bricks.

* * *

The next morning the girls were sat on Quinn's couch, at opposite ends facing each other. Rachel had her feet stretched out towards the middle cushion and Quinn's legs were bent at the knees, feet pressing into the couch either side of Rachel's ankles. Her bare toes occasionally caressing the soft skin below the hem of the brunette's jeans.

"So I guess we should talk." Quinn suggests awkwardly.

"I guess so. Let's start at the beginning and work our way through it all. You explain about Stanford, I'll explain about Finn and then I reckon we should talk about last night too."

"Okay." The blonde gulps.

When she doesn't say anymore Rachel gently nudges her shin with her foot, pulling those hazel eyes to hers.

"It's okay, we need to promise each other we won't get mad during this talk, we just want to lay it all out in the open."

Quinn takes a deep breath before tearing her gaze away from Rachel's and looking around the room, trying to sort out all her thoughts but only one thing came to her mind.

"I love you Rachel."

Rachel pauses. "I love you too."

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for all this to happen and I know it's all my fault. The only reason things happened with Finn was because I was scared about being apart from you and ended up forcing us apart anyway."

"Why were you scared?"

"I… We've all heard about high school relationships that fall apart during college and I just wanted to do everything in my power to prevent that and being on the other side of the country wouldn't help."

"But you really want to go to Stanford?" Rachel asks, watching as Quinn hesitates. "Okay, pretend I'm not your girlfriend for a moment, how would you respond if say Santana asked you that question?"

Quinn tries to ignore the flutters in her stomach that appear when Rachel implies they're still dating.

"Yes, it's my dream school."

"Then you need to go."

"But…"

"No, no buts. When you told me you loved me I freaked out because I didn't want you to interrupt my future and now you're considering letting me disrupt yours? That's not right Quinn. You belong at that school, you want to go, so go. Whatever happens between us was meant to happen. We'll either make it through or we'll break up. Either way, I'll still love you and who knows? We could always find our way back to each other. If you love something, set it free, if it comes back, it was meant to be." Rachel quotes, thankful that she'd chosen Sam to ask for advice.

"When did you get so smart?"

"Hey, I've always been smart! But actually I can't take credit for that last part, Sam said that to me, about us obviously."

"You talked to Sam?"

"Yeah, I was panicked about us, because you were just ignoring me and he calmed me down, explained that I needed to give you space so I did and now I owe him a thank you as it seems to have worked."

"So I'm going to Stanford?"

"You're going to Stanford… almost 3000 miles away."

"It's only 4 years, and then if you'll still have me, I'd love to join you in New York."

"As long as you promise me you won't get caught up in the Californian lifestyle and want to stay there forever."

"No way. Home is where the heart is, and my heart will always be with you."

Rachel blushes and shifts around on the sofa so she can plant a soft kiss on Quinn's lips.

"Stop trying to distract me." The blonde teases. "We still have two more topics."

The diva huffs, flopping back down into her previous position, causing a giggle to escape from Quinn.

"Oh I've missed that attitude."

Rachel simply pouts harder.

"Anyway, you're turn. Explain about Finn."

"Finn… Finn is like my safety net. I hate being alone and knew he would welcome me back with open arms, despite having claimed to be letting me go after Regionals. Honestly I let him kiss me because I… I wanted to test my feelings. I knew I loved you, that much was clear to me, but was I still partially in love with him?"

When Rachel stopped talking there, Quinn panics.

"And? Are you?"

"Not even in the slightest."

The blonde grins. "Quinn 1 : Finn 0."

"I think you've got more than one point." Rachel teases. "Now onto last night. Why did you make me prom queen and force me into Finn's arms?"

"What? I um… How did you know?"

"Please, I'm not stupid. I know no one in that room truly cared about me enough to vote for me."

"That's not true."

"Exactly, and that's how I figured it out. You were the only one who would do this for me but I still don't understand why."

"Because I love you and despite this crown meaning everything to me for the first few years of high school, you mean more. You will always mean more, than everything."

* * *

That evening when Judy got home, she found Quinn cuddled up on the sofa with Rachel, a smile on both their faces despite them both being fast asleep.

A smile of her own graced her face as her daughter seemed to have finally worked things out with her love.

Just in time too as they were heading to Chicago in a few days and were sharing a room with all the other glee girls and the tension would've been out of the roof. An elephant in the room that no one would dare mention.

Though now, things were looking up.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm predicting this is near the end. This chapter covers Nationals and Graduation then I'll have a chapter or two over summer and then another couple after a time jump when they've finished uni. I'm not going to write about their time at uni (or college as I think it's called in America?), I'll just have a brief explanation of each year after the time jump as otherwise this story would last forever and whilst I'm sure you'd love that, I've got other stories to write!  
> There was a potential for a cliffhanger halfway through this chapter but I was nice for once and continued instead of leaving it till the next chapter.  
> Read and review :)

"So, baby mama, I hear you're moving to Cali, wanna get a place together?"

Quinn scoffs, turning to face Puck as they walked down the corridor towards the awaiting bus to Chicago outside.

"Firstly, I'm going to Stanford, you're going to be in Hollywood, they aren't exactly close enough to 'get a place'. Secondly, I'm staying on campus with a roommate."

"Who will know that you have a very adorable girlfriend who you're head over heels in love with." Rachel adds, falling into step beside them, linking her fingers through Quinn's.

"Right." The blonde chuckles. "What are the chances they're gay though?"

"Actually it's quite common for people to belong to the LGBTQ community nowadays. Plus people like to experiment in college." Rachel shrugs, before gasping. "I forgot my lucky headband. I'll meet you at the bus, save me a seat?"

Without waiting for a response she places a quick kiss on Quinn's cheek before rushing back to her locker.

"Looks like you two worked things out." Puck comments.

"Yeah…"

"What's wrong?"

Quinn sighs, she hated how he could always read her. "It's just, it seemed too easy. It's like I'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"Or maybe, it was easy because you two love each other and at the end of the day, that's all that matters."

"Maybe." The blonde comments, lost in her thoughts.

* * *

They couldn't believe it. They'd done it. They'd won Nationals.

As soon as the result had been revealed, Quinn picks Rachel up and spins her round, kissing her deeply. She didn't care that they were still on stage or who saw them, she wanted to celebrate with her girl. It was too late now, a kiss couldn't ruin it for them this year.

After a couple hours celebrating with the boys, supplied by the alcohol Puck had snuck in to the hotel, Santana dragged all the girls back to their room.

"Me thinks it's time for a little game of Never Have I Ever." The Latina announces, a glint in her eye that unnerved Quinn, but they were all too tipsy to come up with a reason not to play.

They all sit in a circle on the floor and Santana pours them all a shot – they stolen 7 glasses from the boys, who had 'borrowed' them from the bar.

Mercedes gets nominated to go first.

"Never have I ever kissed a girl." She giggles.

Everyone but her drinks.

"Okay, I'm not surprised at Sugar drinking to that but Tina?!" Rachel comments.

"It was a girl at Asian camp, before Mike. I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about." Tina shrugs.

"And…?" Brittany prompts.

"Not for me."

"Fair enough. Berry, you're up." Santana says, refilling the glasses.

"Never have I ever cheated on a test."

Santana, Brittany and Sugar drink.

"Never have I ever… had a one night stand." Tina pipes up.

Brittany and Santana instantly down their shots whilst Quinn drinks after a moment's hesitation.

Rachel places a comforting hand on Quinn's thigh.

"Don't worry about it, Britt you go." The blonde states, brushing the attention off herself.

"Never have I ever cried after sex."

Santana swears before drinking. When she looks up, there are 6 pairs of eyes on her.

"I was drunk okay?" The Latina comments.

"What about the second time?" Brittany asks innocently.

Quinn collapses with giggles, causing Santana to shoot her a glare.

"Alright Blondie, never have I ever dated a midget."

Rachel pouts and Quinn growls before drinking.

"Two can play at this game San. Never have I ever had my parents walk in on me 'getting busy'."

Santana and Brittany drink, so does Sugar but no one's really paying attention to anyone other than the Unholy Trinity right now.

Quinn knew she was going to regret it as soon as the words left her mouth.

"Never have I ever tested my girlfriend…" The Latina smirks, she'd finally crossed the line between tipsy and drunk and there was no going back now.

Brittany drinks, everyone turns to her until they notice Quinn drinking too. And there it was, the other shoe, that Quinn had been dreading, finally dropped.

"What?" Rachel and Santana exclaim at the same time.

"Yeah I tested how long you would last singing while I went down on you remember?" Brittany comments.

Santana blushes but then sees the look in Rachel's eyes and realises what she's done.

"Oh shit." She mumbles.

"Quinn…" Rachel whispers, hurt lacing her tone.

"Um… well… I may have given you prom queen to test if you really wanted me or Finn."

"You did what?" The singer demands, suddenly transitioning from hurt to anger.

"It was only part of the reason though." Quinn tries to reason.

"Oh is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Um, no, not really."

"Berry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that." Santana adds, trying to break the tension.

"No actually I'm glad you did, now I know that my girlfriend is still keeping secrets." Rachel huffs. "I'm sleeping in Sugar's bed tonight."

"Score." Sugar mutters before noticing Quinn's glare. "Uh, I'll sleep on the floor."

"No need for that." Mercedes adds. "Rachel, I'll sleep with Sugar you can share with Tina."

"Thank you Mercedes, now that's sorted I think I'll get ready for bed."

As Rachel moves towards the bathroom, Quinn stands.

"Rach…"

"I'll talk to you in the morning." Rachel adds, slamming the bathroom door behind her.

* * *

However, once morning rolls around, Rachel avoids Quinn as much as possible. They're scheduled to leave Chicago in the afternoon so the girls spend the morning in their hotel room, tension surrounding all of them, no one daring to speak.

"Dammit Rachel, it's not like you did the exact same thing! You tested your feeling for Finn!" Quinn finally snaps.

"Let's go down to the restaurant." Santana suggests, ushering Brittany, Mercedes, Tina and Sugar out of the room.

"What? That's completely different. I was testing myself not you." Rachel fires back once they're alone.

Quinn sighs, sitting on the edge of one of the beds. "Rachel please, just tell me how to fix this. We haven't even been in this relationship a year and we're already tearing each other apart."

"Well then maybe we should just break up, it's clearly not working."

"What?" Quinn whispers, tears flooding her eyes.

"I think you heard me just fine Quinn."

"Fine." The blonde replies, storming out of the room, leaving Rachel standing wondering what she'd just done and why.

Quinn was the love of her life and she was right, they were tearing each other apart, but it was fixable, surely they could've fixed it? But it was too late now, Rachel had crossed the line of no returns.

Or had she?

* * *

Before they knew it, it was graduation day. Two long weeks later.

Neither Quinn nor Rachel had talked to the other since Chicago. Quinn sat beside Puck on the bus home, leaving Rachel with the choice of sitting beside Finn, or at the front with Artie. Naturally, she chose Artie.

Once again, what started off as Quinn's mistake, turned into Rachel needing to apologise.

So at the graduation party, she didn't hesitate to take the stage. Her eyes scan the crowd, all dressed in red until her gaze lands on the one person she can always seek out, it was as if her heart and eyes worked together to find her.

All eyes turn to the stage as music starts playing and Rachel steps up closer to the microphone, but her stare never leaves Quinn's from across the room.

" _Tear drops in your hazel eyes,  
Can't believe I made you cry.  
It feels so long since we went wrong,  
But you're still on my mind.  
Never meant to break your heart,  
Sometimes things just fall apart.  
So here's one night to make it right,  
Before we say goodbye._

" _So wait up, wait up,  
Give me one more chance,  
To make up, make up,  
I just need one last dance._

" _Freshman year I saw your face,  
Now it's graduation day.  
Said we'd be friends, till the end,  
Can we start again?_

" _So wait up, wait up,  
Give me one more chance,  
To make up, make up,  
I just need one last dance._

" _Na-na-na-na ohhh…  
Na-na-na-na ohhh…_

" _I heard you're heading east,  
So let's just make our peace.  
So when you think of me,  
You'll smile, and I'll smile._

" _So wait up, wait up,  
Give me one more chance,  
To make up, make up,  
I just need one last dance._

" _So wait up, wait up,  
Give me one more chance,  
Just one song, then I'll move on,  
Give me one last dance.  
I just need one last dance with you.  
Ohh-woah."_

As Rachel had requested, as soon as she finishes the last note, a slow song is played over the speakers so she hops off the stage and walks over to Quinn.

"May I have this dance?"

The blonde hesitates. One lyric stuck in her head.

' _Just one song, then I'll move on._ '

She didn't want Rachel to move on. She just wanted Rachel.

Slowly, she takes the brunettes hand and lets herself be lead off towards the dance floor. Rachel pulls her close and Quinn's hands instinctively land on the shorter girl's waist.

"I want more than one song." Quinn suddenly says.

"What?"

"Don't move on, I need you Rachel. These past two weeks have been hell and yes four years is going to be hard but what could be harder than what we've just gone through?"

"You know, my NYAYA course is only 3 years, I could always come spend a year in California…"

"You'd do that? Leave New York for me?"

"Quinn… I'd do anything for you. Can we just start over?"

"No."

Rachel's face fell, until she feels Quinn press a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I don't want to start over, I want to pick up right where we left off."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: One Last Dance by R5.
> 
> I know it's a tad unrealistic for everyone to be wearing their graduation gowns to a party but oh well, I left out the caps as that really was a step too far in my opinion, not that I've ever attended an American graduation party.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So when I first started writing this I pictured finishing it after graduation and maybe having an epilogue after college (see, I'm learning) but several twists and turns later, I decided to give you these chapters set over summer, as I mentioned in the last AN, that will be filled with sunshine and rainbows (not to mention, smut) to make up for all the angst I've put you through.  
> Read and review :)

"Left a bit." Rachel comments.

"Your left or mine?"

"Mine."

Quinn sighs and moves slightly to her right, Rachel's left.

"Okay try it now."

As Quinn lowers herself Rachel waits patiently.

"No, it's still not working." The brunette huffs, getting impatient.

"Dammit Rachel, do you want to do it?"

"Well no I'd much prefer it if you could do it, seems pointless to just do it myself."

The blonde growls lowly. "Fine, how about I say down there and you can shift left and right until I'm in the right place?"

Rachel tilts her head to the side in thought. "That could work, that way I'm fully in charge."

Quinn disappears from her line of sight once more and Rachel shifts slightly to her left, then back to the right.

"Oh my God, that's perfect. Just keep it there… yes Quinn!"

As Rachel finally snaps the picture she kicks her feet until Quinn surfaces.

"You know, if anyone heard us just then they'd be very confused about what was happening." The blonde jokes. "Let me see it then."

The diva blushes as she realises how their conversation must've sounded to anyone who could overhear, handing her girlfriend the camera.

Quinn looks over the picture, her legs sticking out the top of the pool water, her feet at the perfect angle so it looks like the setting sun is resting on her soles.

"Okay that was totally worth it." She giggles.

"You don't think your mom heard do you?"

Quinn laughs. "No, I was just teasing you."

She rests her head in Rachel's lap who is sat on the edge of her pool.

"Ew Quinn, you're making me all wet."

"Oh am I now?" The blonde smirks, an eyebrow raised.

"You know what I meant."

"I definitely do."

Quinn runs her nose along Rachel's bikini bottoms, causing the girl to whimper above her.

"Are you trying to get us in trouble?"

"I already said my mom can't hear us."

"But she can see us."

"She can see you, and only if she looks."

Rachel gives in at that point, the feeling of Quinn's nose rubbing her was too much to handle.

"Fine, but be quick."

The blonde grins, pulling aside the bright orange fabric and running her tongue along the girl's core, earning a moan.

Fingers lace in Quinn's hair as strong arms pull Rachel's hips closer to the edge of the pool, closer to her mouth.

"I'm so close already baby…" The singer moans.

Smirking against the girl's centre, Quinn slips her hands under Rachel and ducks down under the water before pushing up with her arms, causing Rachel to fall into the water behind her.

As the brunette splutters to the surface, Quinn leans against the pool wall, giggling.

"Quinn! What was that for?!"

"I couldn't resist." The blonde shrugs.

"Well good luck getting any tonight."

Quinn chuckles before helping her girlfriend out of the pool. "Oh, I'm not worried about that, after what I have planned, you'll definitely want me."

"Is that so? What, pray tell, do you have planned?"

"You'll see."

* * *

Half an hour later, Rachel is sat in Quinn's den, waiting for her to return.

She takes the time to look around the space, having never really spent any time in this room. She notices a large television, a huge stack of DVDs, an even bigger book case and the most beautiful piano she had ever seen. She reckoned this was the piano that Quinn had used when learning to play. She flashes back to the last time she heard Quinn play, right before she said those glorious three words that initially made her panic but soon made her realise that Quinn was all she'd ever want. Yes, she'd doubted this since but now they were back on the right track and although they were heading in two different directions, quite literally, in a few weeks, right now she didn't care. They were living in the moment. Sure the next three years were going to be insanely difficult, and leaving New York for a year after that may seem counterintuitive but it was worth it. Quinn was worth it.

As Quinn walks back into the room, Rachel stood to give her a long, deep kiss.

"Mmm…" Quinn moans, pulling away reluctantly, to catch her breath. "What was that for?"

"Just because I love you."

"I love you too, and I'm glad you are no longer mad at me."

"Only because I want to see what you have planned, you know how much I hate surprises and yet continue to plan them so I assume it must be a good one."

"I hope so."

"You hope so? You don't know?"

"Nope, it's actually more down to you, but first…" Quinn guides Rachel until she's sat back down on the couch. She then moves to sit at the piano stool.

"You're going to sing for me again?" The brunette grins.

"Yep. Now shh."

After taking a moment to collect herself, Quinn begins to play, humming along and after the introduction, joins in singing.

" _How long will I love you?  
As long as stars are above you,  
And longer if I can.  
How long will I need you?  
As long as the seasons need to,  
Follow their plan._

" _How long will I be with you?  
As long as the sea is bound to,  
Wash up on the sand._

" _How long will I want you?  
As long as you want me to,  
And longer by far.  
How long will I hold you?  
As long as your father told you,  
As long as you can._

" _How long will I give to you?  
As long as I live through you,  
However long you stay.  
How long will I love you?  
As long as stars are about you,  
And longer if I may."_

During the instrumental break, Quinn risks a glance at Rachel, who is staring with tears in her eyes.

" _How long will I love you?  
As long as stars are above you."_

As soon as the last note rings out, Rachel is up out of her seat and landing in Quinn's lap.

"I'm the luckiest girl alive."

"Oh yeah?" Quinn smiles. "Why's that?"

"Because I get to call you my girlfriend."

"Well I've been thinking and… what if you called me your wife?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: How Long Will I Love You by Ellie Goulding  
> Yes it's short but… cliff-hangers are like my thing now :D


	30. Chapter 30

"Quinn…"

"No wait, let me explain." Quinn interrupts, placing her hands on Rachel's waist to stop her from climbing off her lap. "All I want, is a promise, a promise of forever. We don't have to get married tomorrow, hell we don't even have to get married for 20 years but I want a ring on that finger for when we're on opposite sides of the country. I want to claim you properly, in a way that isn't leaving a hickey on your neck for Finn to see. Last night I had this dream, it was us in California, getting married on the beach, three years from now and we don't have to get married like that but think about it Rach, it would be the most romantic location, a lot better weather than in New York any other year, just you and me and our promise of forever."

A smile had been slowly spreading across Rachel's face.

"That does sound incredible, but Quinn…"

"I know exactly what you're going to say and I don't care about the statistics of getting married young. I know that I want you forever, and I hope you feel the same, so I say fuck the statistics. We'll _change_ the statistics."

"Quinn…"

"Wait, just one more thing." The blonde interrupts again, lifting Rachel up, standing and placing the girl back on the piano stool. She pulls a box out of her pocket and kneels down before Rachel. "Rachel Barbra Berry, will you marry me?"

Time seems to stand still as the silence stretches out before them.

"Oh, am I allowed to talk now?" Rachel teases.

"Yes, and please do before my heart breaks."

Rachel takes a deep breath. "Quinn. I love you, more than anything and anyone – don't tell my dads, I may be worried about the statistics but that's not actually what I was going to say. So, let me start over. That does sound incredible, but Quinn, I've always pictured getting married in New York City, once my name was up in lights."

"We can get married anywhere you want love, California, New York, the moon. Tell me a place and I'll be there."

"However, nothing about this relationship has been like how I pictured my future. So I would love to marry you on a Californian beach, three years from now."

"Is that…?"

"Yes Quinn. Yes I will marry you."

* * *

To celebrate, Quinn drives herself and Rachel to the nearest beach. Once they're walking barefoot along the sand, hand in hand, everything that they'd faced up until this point, made sense. It was all worth it and either girl would live it a hundred times over just to reach this point.

"Picture it now babe. A beach, just like this one, with a few chairs set up for our family, including our glee family, a white carpet leading us down the aisle towards a beautiful archway. It's cliché but it'll be ours." Quinn grins.

"I love it, and you."

"Want to practise that kiss?" The blonde asks, eyebrow quirked.

"Over and over again for the rest of our lives."

Quinn pulls them together and kisses Rachel, passionately and deeply. Their tongues dance together as if exploring for the first time.

"I know we just got here but… take me home?" Rachel whispers against Quinn's mouth.

"With pleasure."

"Oh, it will be."

* * *

Mouths found each other once more as soon as they cross the threshold of the Berry home. Rachel explained her house was easier as her dads were out whereas Judy was still at Quinn's house. Quinn had quickly agreed.

They fumble up the stairs, removing clothing as they went, until they were standing naked in Rachel's bedroom, the brunette trapped between the wall and her fiancé. There was no where she would rather be. Unless being underneath Quinn was an option, which at this moment in time, it was.

"Bed." She mumbles as the blonde starts kissing down her neck.

"Not yet, I have some unfinished business to attend to."

Quinn lowers herself to her knees and gently nudges Rachel's legs apart.

"Think you can stay standing?"

Rachel looks down at the girl between her legs. "Let's find out."

The blonde smirks before poking her tongue out and flicking it against Rachel's clit. She repeats this action a few times then latches her mouth onto the brunette's centre, alternating between small flicks of the tongue and long strokes.

Rachel trembles above her, attempting to continue holding her own weight up. She laces her fingers into Quinn's hair, gently pulling it when the blonde's tongue hits a sensitive area. So Quinn's hair was pulled quite often.

After several moments of ecstasy, wave after wave of pleasure washes over Rachel and her back slides down the wall. She ends up face to face with Quinn, who pulls her in for a kiss so she can taste herself.

Overcome with desire, Rachel pushes Quinn backwards until she's lying on her back on the floor.

"What happened to the bed?" Quinn laughs.

"Too far away."

As Rachel climbs onto Quinn's lap, their cores brush together causing both girls to let out a long moan. The brunette grins, an idea hitting her, and continues to grind against the girl below her.

Quinn's hands land on Rachel's hips, pushing her harder against herself. Their movements become faster and sloppier and soon Quinn is falling over the edge, Rachel coming undone once more soon after as she feels the blonde twitching against her.

They spend the rest of the afternoon in each other's embrace, enjoying release over and over again.

* * *

That evening, Quinn invites her mother over for dinner at Rachel's house. Rachel's dads had not long got home and luckily the girls had thought to clean up their clothes before they arrived.

Once all the parents were sat around the table, Rachel and Quinn walk in from the kitchen.

"Where's the food?" Hiram asks, noticing the girls' empty hands.

"Dads, Judy, Quinn and I have some news before we start dinner." Rachel starts before simply lifting up her left hand, showing off her ring. It was a simple silver band with a small inset pink diamond.

"You finally asked her!" LeRoy exclaims.

"What?" Rachel questions, looking at a blushing Quinn.

"Um…" The blonde stutters.

"She asked us for permission _months_ ago." Hiram explains.

"You did?"

"Well, um, yes, but then everything went wrong and I lost confidence in whether I was who you wanted." Quinn adds shyly.

Rachel had never seen Quinn looking so bashful, it was adorable.

"I love you." She whispers, though everyone heard her anyway.

"I love you more." The blonde smirks.

"Hmm… not possible. Quinn Fabray, you will forever be the one I want, you don't need to be anyone but yourself. I don't need anything fancy in life. Just you."


	31. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it. The end of Blink And You'll Miss It (including the temporary bonus chapter), it's been a wild ride that even I didn't see coming. Thank you all for reading and reviewing if indeed you did review.  
> As I mentioned a few chapters ago (I think?), I will be taking a break from posting for a while so I will be able to write longer chapters and upload them more frequently as I won't have to write one a week which has been stressful occasionally. I am currently writing the sequel to You're All I Need as well as the rewrite of Say You'll Be Mine (if you started reading that on ff.net). Additionally I'm working on a request which is a fic entitled The Story About Quinn that will also be a priority to post so I may post that alongside You're Still All I Need which will be about 10 chapters and then upload Say You'll Be Mine once that's finished. I don't know how long this break will last, it depends how much time I find to write so make sure you follow me to be notified when I post again, or just check back monthly if you like effort aha. I'll also let people know when I'm back via my Instagram account queendiannaagron_ff. However, I promise I will return with more Faberry goodness as I have too many ideas not to come back and share them so I hope you will all read my future works :)  
> So, without further ado… the epilogue…  
> Read and comment :)

**Three Years Later**

It had been a long three years but the day they had been waiting for finally arrived. The day Rachel was moving to California, and in a few months, they'd be getting married.

They'd done a lot of the preparation together over the past few years, with Quinn checking out important items like the chairs or the archway in person whilst on a video call with Rachel. Quinn's favourite day was when she got to go cake tasting, she was a little disappointed to find out that Rachel wouldn't be able to eat the main cake as nowhere made vegan wedding cakes despite Quinn's offer to pay handsomely. Rachel insisted that Quinn got the cake she wanted and she herself will just have a smaller cake for her and any other vegan family members.

The girls had visited each other in their respective cities countless times and always spent the holidays in Lima together, often attending glee club reunions.

Rachel had just graduated from NYADA, top of her class as Quinn had expected and the blonde had flown across the country to attend her graduation ceremony as a surprise.

Quinn herself still had one last year left at Stanford but she was really loving it and was looking forward to graduating in a year to move to New York City with the girl who would soon be her wife.

Wife. It was still all surreal to Quinn, she hadn't pictured herself as the type to get engaged so young, but then again, she hadn't pictured being pregnant at 16 either. Still, she was beyond happy at how her life had turned out, even if it meant losing her father in the process. She'd reached out to him when she first moved to California as she knew she was far enough away from him to feel safe if things turned bad once more, but after revealing the news of her new fiancée, he hung up the phone and seemingly blocked her number as when Quinn had tried to call him again, it never went through. This had caused Rachel's first trip to the Golden State, and the blonde had cried all night in the comfort of Rachel's arms.

Quinn's first time visiting Rachel went slightly different, she'd walked in to one of the dance rooms at NYADA to find her fiancée dancing with a Ken-wannabe. However, her jealousy was soon settled when Rachel noticed her and smothered her with kisses. After Rachel had introduced her to Brody, she dragged the brunette back to the apartment she shared with Kurt for some… reconnecting. Rachel loved jealous Quinn.

Now, Quinn was stood waiting at the airport, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, the key to their new apartment in her pocket.

As soon as Rachel saw Quinn waiting, she jumps into the blonde's arms. Quinn catches her with ease and spins her round, giddy with excitement. After she's been set down, Rachel pulls her fiancé into a fierce kiss, not even caring that they're in public.

"Mmm." Quinn hums, pulling away reluctantly. "As much as I'm enjoying that, maybe we should get out of here and go _home_."

Over the three years they'd been apart, Rachel had been slowly bringing more clothes over to California and leaving them there for when she moved, to lighten the load. Their apartment was already furnished so she left all her furniture in New York with Kurt and Blaine for when they moved back next year.

"I like the sound of that." Rachel smirks. "Take me home Quinn."

"That's becoming your catchphrase missy. Anyone would think you're desperate to be alone with me."

"Can you blame me?" The brunette questions as they walk out of the airport to catch a cab, raking her gaze over Quinn who was wearing shorts and a tight t-shirt. "I'm glad we got you a ring too otherwise people would constantly throw themselves at you."

Quinn smiles, twirling the simple silver band wrapped around her ring finger. "You know I wouldn't have let them get anywhere near but I guess it was a good idea regardless. I have to admit, I was still hit on at bars until I flashed them the ring."

"Didn't stop Sarah from trying though."

"Babe, you know I shot her down countless times. Though I'm not complaining because it led to you 'claiming' me." The blonde husks.

"Now that was a fun night." Rachel smirks. "I still wish you'd switched dorms though."

"There wasn't much point after that night, she steered clear and stayed on her side of the room once she'd heard me screaming your name over and over. You definitely proved who I belonged to."

"It was my pleasure, always glad to help."

"I think you'll find it was _my_ pleasure." Quinn giggles.

* * *

A short taxi ride later, they arrived at their apartment. Quinn had spent the last few months searching for the perfect place for them to live this year and was overwhelmed with joy when she found this place. It was a small building in San Carlos, a 15 minute drive away from Stanford University as well as being approximately half an hour from San Francisco where they were getting married. It was a one bedroom apartment on the top floor of the building, the front door led into the lounge, the kitchen was through a door to the left of lounge whilst the bedroom and bathroom were to the right. Rachel had loved it when Quinn had sent a video but seeing it now, in person, was ten times more impressive.

"Want to break in the bedroom?" Quinn asks, eyebrow raised.

Rachel turns to face her. "Why stop at the bedroom?"

* * *

Three months later, the big day had finally arrived. It was a beautiful sunny day in August and the girls had spent the last few nights in San Francisco. Their family and friends had arrived and everything was being set up at the beach.

Rachel was pacing in her hotel room, Kurt was fussing over every little detail, making sure his best friend looked her best. Mercedes and Tina were sat at the vanity touching up their make up whilst Rachel's dads were sat on the girl's bed waiting until they were asked to do something.

Across the hall, Quinn was lying on her bed, a grin spread across her face. All she had left to do was get into her dress and walk down the aisle.

"Q, sit up, you're going to ruin your hair." Santana instructs, having spent half an hour curling the blonde locks.

Quinn sighs and sits up, her hair still perfect thanks to the hair spray and the Latina turns her attention back to Brittany's hair. Judy sat in the corner, silently crying with happiness and Puck stood by the door in his suit, stopping Quinn from sneaking out to see Rachel.

They had been desperate to see each other last night but Santana and Kurt worked together to keep them apart as it was tradition.

Mike and Sam were down at the beach making sure everything was in place and the rest of the glee club, including Mr Schuster and Emma were in their own rooms getting ready. Sue Sylvester was also at the beach, having insisted on officiating for her favourite cheerio, despite Quinn's sporadic devotion to the cheer team. They'd invited Finn but he declined the invitation, stating he was happy for them but it would be too painful to watch. He'd joined the army after high school and fallen for one of the nurses on base, their relationship was still going strong but he was afraid that old feelings would surface if he saw his high school sweetheart get married. Neither girl had invited any of their friends from college, Brody would've been the only one that Rachel would invite but upon discovering his job, the brunette had put some distance between herself and the male escort. She didn't judge him, she was just shocked from the revelation so decided to put a pause on their friendship until she was back in New York when they would try again. Quinn hadn't made many friends at Stanford, but out of the few she did have, there was only one girl, Jess, who she was close to but still not close enough to invite her to her wedding.

Finally, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Quinn was stood under the flower archway, looking out at all the faces sat in the seats before her. Santana, Brittany and Puck were to her left, Sue was behind her and Kurt, Mercedes and Tina were on Rachel's side of the arch.

There were members of the public wandering the beach but luckily, they all stayed away from the wedding setup.

Music started playing from speakers in front of the front row of seats and Quinn turns her attention to the aisle to watch Rachel walk towards her, one dad on either side of her as she couldn't choose who should walk her down the aisle.

As Rachel walks, she can't stop the smile on her face at the sight of Quinn waiting for her, a vision in a white dress. She concentrates on walking, the sand uneven beneath her feet so she had to focus on not tripping. So she just walked, towards Quinn, towards her future, towards their promise of forever.

* * *

For once in her life, Rachel was nervous about singing. She'd kept it a secret from Quinn that she would sing at the reception.

They were all back at the hotel for the reception, and had not long finished dinner. The DJ was finishing setting up his booth whilst people gave their speeches. Rachel's dads made her cry with their joint speech, Quinn's mom thoroughly embarrassed the blonde, Quinn herself read a beautiful poem she had written about her now wife and finally, it was Rachel's turn.

"So, being the diva I am, I thought I'd do something different for my speech."

Quinn shoots Rachel a look as she moves from the head table to the stage at the other end of the small room. All the guests turned in their seats to watch as the brunette took a microphone from the DJ.

As the music started up, Rachel's hands begin to shake but as she looks up at the crowd, her eyes immediately find hazel ones staring back at her and it instantly calms her down as she starts to sing.

" _I don't need a hundred roses waiting by the front door,  
I don't need a fancy house in the hills.  
You could rope the mood and bring me all the stars in heaven,  
It won't change how I feel.  
You don't have to be a modern-day Shakespeare,  
You don't have to be anything you're not.  
You don't have to give me diamonds to impress me,  
Just give me your heart._

" _Make me feel loved, make me feel beautiful,  
Make me feel dance around the room Cinderella kind of magical.  
Make me believe, I'm all that you'll ever need,  
Hold me close and make me feel a million kinds of wonderful.  
Baby your touch, is more than enough,  
Make me feel loved._

" _It's the way you bring me coffee in the morning,  
And how you know just what not to say.  
I don't need you to try and fix everything,  
When I've had a bad day._

" _Make me feel loved, make me feel beautiful,  
Make me feel dance around the room Cinderella kind of magical.  
Make me believe, I'm all that you'll ever need,  
Hold me close and make me feel a million kinds of wonderful.  
Baby your touch, is more than enough,  
Make me feel loved._

" _Make me feel loved, make me feel beautiful,  
Make me feel dance around the room Cinderella kind of magical.  
Make me believe, I'm all that you'll ever need,  
Hold me close and make me feel a million kinds of wonderful.  
Baby your touch, is more than enough,  
Make me feel loved."_

Quinn approaches Rachel as soon as the song was over and wraps her in her arms.

"You are loved." She whispers into the brunette's ear. "More than you'll ever know."

* * *

**Two Years Later**

It was their second wedding anniversary and Quinn had finally gotten the perfect gift for Rachel. So bright and early she woke up to make breakfast for her wife.

Unfortunately, it seemed that Rachel had the same idea as when the blonde woke up, she was alone and the smell of bacon was floating through the house.

A short while later and Quinn had yet to get out of bed, Rachel came back into their bedroom.

"You stole my idea." Quinn pouts.

"Sorry baby, but you know I always wake up before you right?"

"Only because you have that insane workout regime."

Rachel laughs lightly, setting down a tray of food on Quinn's lap. There was a plate stacked high with bacon, another plate with pancakes, which she assumed were vegan, and two glasses of orange juice.

"Can I give you your present yet?" Quinn asks, after eating a mouthful of bacon.

"I thought we were doing that later, after dinner." The brunette responds, perching on the bed at Quinn's feet.

"Yeah but I'm too excited to wait. Please." She begs.

"You know I can't resist your pouty face." Rachel chuckles. "Okay, but you have to wait for yours."

Quinn grins before reaching into her bedside table for a small ring box.

"You remember we're already married right?" The brunette jokes, stealing a bite of pancake.

"Open the box." Quinn instructs, rolling her eyes.

Rachel lifts the lid on the box to reveal a dummy. Tears instantly flooded her eyes.

"Quinn…"

"The insemination worked, the doctor confirmed it. I went after my shift at the bookstore yesterday." Quinn explains. "I'm pregnant."

Rachel moves the tray onto the floor before launching herself at her wife. They'd been waiting over six months for this day to happen. Seeing as they'd been moving quickly through the relationship milestones, they figured they'd try to start a family. They were still really young but to them, that didn't matter, they knew they loved each other and that was the most important thing. After a few failed attempts they lost hope, only having enough money in their savings for one last try, not knowing that it would be the successful one. They'd chosen a donor that carried Rachel's traits, brown hair and eyes, but Rachel was still hoping for a mini Quinn.

The singer latches her lips onto Quinn's for a deep passionate kiss.

"I love you." She whispers against her lover's lips.

"I love you too." The blonde responds.

Quinn's hands reach inside Rachel's robe, finding bare skin so unties the garment to reveal her to the cool air.

"Hmm, was someone planning on getting lucky?" Quinn teases.

"It's our anniversary, it's tradition." The brunette giggles. "Now though, I want to treat you instead."

"You won't hear me complaining."

Rachel quirks her mouth into a smile as she pulls away the duvet and lift's Quinn's shirt, gently kissing her stomach.

"I can't wait to meet you." She whispers against the skin.

Quinn's heart floods with love at the sweet gesture but couldn't resist the opportunity to tease.

"You realise you're talking to something that's probably smaller than a peanut right now?"

Rachel, who was still kissing her stomach, looks up. "Keep that up and I won't go any lower."

The blonde mimes zipping her mouth shut, causing Rachel to release a laugh.

"Good girl."

Rachel shifts her weight so she could pull Quinn's sleep shorts down. She then kisses a path back up her legs, planting a final kiss on the inside of both her thighs.

Quinn reaches down to run her fingers through brunette locks, urging the girl closer until finally, lips connect with her core, a moan ripping out from deep in her chest.

As she licks at Quinn's clit, Rachel inserts two fingers, moving them in time with her tongue, curling them to hit her spot perfectly every time.

After several moments of pure bliss, Quinn finally falls over the edge, her back arching off the bed, stars behind her eyes.

Rachel climbs back up the bed to lie next to her panting wife.

Once the blonde has caught her breath, she wraps her arms around Rachel.

"I love you and our little family to be." She whispers.

The singer rests a hand lovingly on Quinn's stomach.

"You, me, and our little Peanut."

* * *

**Three Years Later**

"Honey, I'm home!" Rachel calls as soon as she enters her house.

"Mama!" Her two year old daughter screams as soon as she catches sight of her mother.

"Hey Peanut." Rachel grins, bending down to scoop the little blonde girl up in her arms. "Where's Mom?"

"Kitchen." Maya responds, tucking her head into Rachel's neck.

The brunette carries her daughter into the kitchen at the back of the house and smiles at the sight of her wife cooking dinner.

"Hey babe, how was work?" Quinn asks as soon as she sees Rachel enter the room.

"It was a slow rehearsal day, Liam kept getting his lines wrong again." She complains, leaning in to kiss Quinn, causing Maya to scrunch her nose up in disgust.

Quinn tickles the little girl's stomach before Rachel sets her down on the floor to play.

"I don't see why he can't spend time outside of rehearsal learning his lines like every other member of the cast." Quinn comments.

"Me neither. They're such beautiful words after all, I'm so lucky I got the lead."

"Hmm, well I'm sure it has everything to do with the talent and nothing to do with the fact you married the girl who wrote the script…" The blonde teases.

Rachel gasps. "Quinn Berry-Fabray! Are you implying that I cheated my way to the top?!"

"Never." She chuckles, kissing the fake pout away from the diva's lips.

"I love you, and the musical you wrote. For me."

"Which do you love more?" Quinn laughs.

The brunette pauses for effect, also to tease her wife. "I guess if I had to choose…"

"Rachel…" The blonde warns.

"You Quinn. It's always you."

"How did I get so lucky?"

"I don't know, but it all started with a wink."

"That was the best day of my life."

"Will you tell me the story Mama?" Maya asks suddenly.

"Of course baby girl." Rachel smiles, preparing herself to tell the story despite the girl's young age meaning she would probably forget it all soon. "It all started when I walked through the doors to William McKinley High School on the first day of my senior year…"

* * *

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Song: Loved by Lucy Hale, one of my favourite songs ever.
> 
> Thank you all for reading :D  
> If you skipped over the long AN, I recommend you read it as it contains important information.  
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this story, let me know what you thought (even if it's negative). I do kinda wish I'd called this story Promise Of Forever now seeing as I used it a lot in the last two chapters. Oh well.  
> See you all soon x


End file.
